M  MEMQRIAJA 
A.   F.   Lange 


Education  Department 


THE  GOVERNMENT 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN    PEOPLE 


BY 


FRANK  STRONG,  Ph.D. 

President  of  the  University  of  Kansas 
AND 

JOSEPH   SCHAFER,  M.  L. 

Assistant  Professor  of  History  in  the 
University  of  Oregon 


BOSTON,  NEW  YORK,  AND  CHICAGO 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND  COMPANY 


r> 


COPYRIGHT,   I9OI 

BY  FRANK   STRONG   AND  JOSEPH   SCHAFER 

ALL  RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  a  story  of  the  development  of  govern- 
ment in  America.  The  writers  believe  from  experience 
and  observation  that  there  are  four  main  reasons  why 
books  on  Civil  Government,  for  both  the  grammar 
grades  and  the  high  school,  have  proved  unprofitable, 
and  why  there  is  such  widespread  complaint  about  the 
study  of  civil  government  in  the  schools,  (i)  The 
books  used,  with  some  exceptions,  are  too  elementary  in 
treatment,  and  so  at  once  offend  the  sense  of  boys  and 
girls ;  or,  (2)  they  are  made  up  of  isolated  topics  which 
have  no  continuity  and  give  no  idea  of  government  even 
in  its  simplest  forms,  and  therefore  fail  to  leave  any 
impression  as  a  whole  upon  the  mind  of  the  pupil ;  or, 
(3)  they  are  practically  mere  analyses  of  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  or,  (4)  they  are  written  in  a  style  which  makes 
necessary  a  large  amount  of  interpretation  in  order  that 
the  pupil  may  understand  the  many  unfamiliar  terms  and 
expressions.  This  book  is  written  with  the  belief  that 
pupils  have  the  ability  (which  we  often  underr^e)  to 
understand  and  appropriate  ideas  of  government  if  ex- 
pressed mainly  in  terms  to  which  they  are  accustomed 
and  in  a  style  that  does  not  require  interpreting.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  if  the  explanation  of  government  is 
progressive  and  moves  from  the  simpler  to  the  more 
complex  forms. 

There  are  two  things,  therefore,  that  seem  to  the 


■i  .  > 


IV  PREFACE 

writers  most  desirable,  and  even  absolutely  necessary. 
They  are  (i)  that  the  story  itself  should  have  a  decided 
continuity ;  (2)  that  the  facts  and  forms  of  government 
should  be  connected  in  an  unbroken  narrative  with 
those  historical  events  upon  which  they  depend,  and 
without  which  it  is  impossible  that  they  be  rightly 
understood.  These  two  requirements  seem  necessary 
for  clearness  and  interest,  and  can  be  conformed  to 
without  subordinating  the  matters  of  government  to  the 
historical  part  of  the  narrative. 

The  book  may  be  used  for  three  classes  of  pupils : 
first,  for  those  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  in  the 
grammar  school,  whose  preparation  requires  mainly  a 
reading  book  on  government,  to  be  supplemented  by 
oral  instruction  ;  second,  for  pupils  of  the  eighth  or 
ninth  grade,  whose  preparation  calls  for  a  study  book, 
with  the  questions  confined  mainly  to  the  text ;  and 
third,  for  those  more  advanced  students  whose  prepara- 
tion calls  for  a  more  philosophical  study  of  the  text, 
with  the  aid  of  references  and  a  large  use  of  the  sugges- 
tive questions.  According  to  the  class  he  has  to  deal 
with,  the  teacher  may  make  much  or  little  of  the  oppor- 
tunities in  the  book  for  study  and  outside  reading.  He 
may  use  one  chapter  merely  for  reading,  and  another  for 
both  reading  and  study,  and  another  for  more  difficult 
and  advanced  work.  This  will  be  possible  and  profitable, 
because  the  continuity  of  the  book  is  fairly  complete  and 
the  progression  of  the  story  natural  and  easy. 

Suggestive  questions  have  been  placed  at  the  end  of 
each  series  of  chapters.  They  are  for  such  classes  and 
schools  as  use  the  book  in  grades  where  the  pupils 
are  advanced  enough  to  do  some  independent  thinking. 


PREFACE  V 

Teachers  should  observe  caution  in  the  use  of  these 
questions,  and  should  be  certain  that  their  pupils  are 
mature  enough  to  warrant  such  use.  Outlines  of  pre- 
sent forms  of  government  will  also  be  found  at  the  end 
of  each  Part  for  the  benefit  of  less  advanced  pupils. 
The  use  of  the  book  as  a  mere  reading  exercise  will  be 
of  great  value.  It  will  supplement  the  knowledge  of 
American  history  already  gained,  and  will  attractively 
connect  the  growth  of  our  government  with  historical 
facts  already  well  understood  by  the  student. 

Those  using  the  book  for  reading  only  may,  if  they 
find  it  best,  dispense  with  the  questions  entirely,  taking 
care  to  see  that  the  pupils  read  intelligently  and  get 
some  correct  and  lasting  impressions  as  to  the  growth 
and  character  of  our  government.  When  used  as  a  read- 
ing book  it  should  be  supplemented  by  oral  instruction, 
which,  when  rightly  used,  will  bring  out  the  details  of 
present  government  as  far  as  pupils  of  the  last  years  of 
the  grammar  schools  are  able  to  observe  them. 

Many  of  the  details  of  present  government  which  are 
often  included  in  a  book  of  this  kind  we  have  left  to 
teachers  and  pupils  to  work  out  for  themselves.  As 
aids  to  this  we  have  put  in  the  questions  and  outlines 
as  noted  above.  These  details  are  the  very  things 
pupils  can  and  ought  to  get  for  themselves,  and  we 
think  it  of  great  importance  that  they  have  this  oppor- 
tunity for  independent  thought  and  research. 

We  are  under  many  obligations  to  Dr.  Joseph  R. 
Wilson,  principal  of  the  Portland  Academy,  Portland, 
Oregon ;  Professor  H.  B.  Buckham,  State  Normal  School, 
Monmouth,  Oregon ;  and  Mr.  Walter  H.  Gushing,  prin- 
cipal of  the  High  School,  Medford,  Mass.,  for  criticisms 


VI  PREFACE 

that  have  greatly  aided  in  the  revision  of  the  manu- 
script. Dr.  Henry  D.  Sheldon,  assistant  professor  of 
philosophy  and  education  in  the  University  of  Oregon, 
Superintendent  Edward  D.  Ressler,  of  the  public  schools 
of  Eugene,  Oregon,  and  other  Oregon  teachers  have 
given  valuable  suggestions.  The  suggestions  and  criti- 
cisms of  the  publishers  of  the  book,  and  especially  of 
Mr.  M.  W.  Richardson,  have  been  invaluable. 

Frank  Strong. 

Joseph  Schafer. 
Eugene,  Oregon,  June  17,  1901. 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

iNTRODUCTION i 

PART   I. 


AND   COUNTY    GOVERNMENT. 

I.   Local    Government    in    Virginia  and    Massa 

CHUSETTS  

II.  Expansion  of  American  Institutions    .    . 

III.  The  County  System  in  the  West      .    .    . 

IV.  The  Township  System  in  the  West  .    .    . 
V.  Present  Tendencies  in  Local  Government 

VL  The  Management  of  Schools  and  Roads 


17 

25 
29 

36 

43 

48 


PART   II. 
CITY   GOVERNMENT. 
VII.  The  Development  of  City  Life  in  the  United 

States 61 

VIII.  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Chicago 69 

IX.  The  Problem  of  Cities  ..." 80 

PART  in. 

STATE    GOVERNMENT. 

X,  The  Development  of  the  Colony  into  the 

State 93 

XI.  The  State  Governments 108 

PART   IV. 
ORIGIN    OF   THE    NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT. 
XII.  Conditions    that    made    Union    between    the 

Colonies  Difficult 127 

XIII.  Growth  of  Union • 133 

XIV.  Genesis  of  the  Constitution 147 


viii  CONTENTS 

PART  V. 
THE   NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT. 

XV.   The  Constitution i6o 

XVI.   The  Federal  Congress 172 

XVII.   The  Federal  Executive 191 

XVIII.   The  Federal  Judiciary 205 

XIX.  Other  Important  Provisions  of  the  Consti- 
tution      215 

appendix 

{a)  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 227 

(b)  The  States  classified  according  to  Origin 244 

Index ••••••••.    245 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF  THE 
AMERICAN    PEOPLE 


INTRODUCTION 


Government  a  Growth.  Governments,  in  their  man- 
ner of  growth,  are  much  like  plants.  As  the  giant  oak 
was  once  a  tiny  shoot  with  a  few  twigs  and  leaves,  al- 
ways in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  some  browsing 
animal,  so  the  greatest  nations  had  their  small  and 
uncertain  beginnings.  The  growth  of  the  tree  is  indi- 
cated year  by  year  by  a  larger  output  of  leaves  and  by 
the  regular  addition  of  new  rings  to  its  trunk ;  that  of 
the  nation,  by  the  gradual  enlargment  of  its  boundaries 
and  the  constant  increase  in  the  things  done  to  develop 
its  resources. 

Not  only  is  there  a  similarity  in  the  growth  of  trees 
and  of  nations  from  small  beginnings  to  great  results, 
but  there  is  still  another  resemblance.  We  now  know 
that  in  the  course  of  long  periods  of  time  plants  go 
through  great  changes  in  their  general  appearance, 
their  form  and  structure.  Thus  in  ages  far  remote,  of 
which  we  have  no  records  except  those  which  the  strata 
of  the  earth  furnish  us,  the  oak  was  not  an  oak,  but  an 
altogether  different  kind  of  plant.  Very  slowly,  century 
by  century,  its  form  changed,  its  appearance  and  struc- 
ture changed,  until  it  became  the  tree  which  everybody 
recognizes  as  the  oak. 


•^;'.^6?C^SrN|V[ENT';0F   the   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Just  SO  with  the  ideas,  the  customs  and  habits,  which 
taken  together  form  a  poUtical  system.  They  have  not 
been  "  struck  off "  by  the  skillful  hand  of  man,  nor  have 
they  been  invented  in  their  complete  form  by  some  cun- 
ning brain.  They  have  simply  grown  by  changing  from 
one  shape  to  another,  little  by  little,  until  they  appear 
at  last  in  the  form  in  which  we  know  them. 

This  growth  is  somewhat  like  that  of  the  language 
we  speak  or  read,  and  in  which  all  of  our  ideas  on  poli- 
tics are  expressed.  We  have  some  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  writings  of  our  ancestors  of  early  colonial 
times.  In  studying  the  English  writers  of  five  hundred 
years  ago  we  keep  a  special  dictionary  at  hand  to  explain 
words  used  then  which  are  not  used  now,  or  are  used  in 
a  different  way.  When  we  get  back  a  thousand  years, 
to  the  time  of  King  Alfred,  the  English  language  is  not 
our  English  language  at  all.  It  is  then  Anglo-Saxon, 
which  has  to  be  learned  from  grammar  and  dictionary 
just  as  we  learn  German,  French,  or  Latin.  The  differ- 
ences between  this  language  and  our  own  are  as  great 
as  those  between  modern  English  and  modern  Dutch 
or  Swedish.  In  fact,  the  language  used  by  the  early 
Anglo-Saxons  is  just  as  closely  related  to  modern 
Swedish  or  Dutch  as  it  is  to  modern  English,  for  the 
people  who  became  Swedes  and  Dutchmen  were,  as  we 
know,  of  the  same  race  as  the  Angles  and  Saxons  who 
were  the  ancestors  of  the  English.  And  not  only  were 
they  of  the  same  race,  but  their  original  home  was  in 
the  same  place,  that  is,  the  country  now  occupied  by 
the  German  Empire.  In  all  of  these  forms  of  language, 
therefore,  we  find  common  elements,  or,  as  the  gram- 
marians call  them,  "roots,"  from  which  the  languages 
have  grown  by  very  slow  changes. 

The   Germans.     Taking   our  political    system   as   a 


INTRODUCTION  3 

whole,  we  may  say  that  it  has  been  inherited  from  the 
EngUshmen  who  colonized  America  nearly  three  hun- 
dred years  ago.  To  be  sure,  many  others  besides  Eng- 
lishmen have  settled  in  this  country  since  that  time, 
but  they  have  had  only  a  very  slight  influence  on 
the  way  in  which  the  government  has  been  carried  on. 
Our  plan  of  governing  by  towns  and  counties,  espe- 
cially, is  directly  connected  with  the  plan  of  governing 
by  towns  and  counties  in  England  at  the  time  when 
Englishmen  first  began  to  come  to  America. 

But  when  we  have  traced  our  ideas  of  government 
thus  far  back  we  are  not  yet  at  the  point  of  beginning, 
nor  even  as  far  as  we  can  safely  go.  For  we  know  that 
the  English  themselves  inherited  many  of  their  ideas 
from  the  Angles  and  Saxons,  who  came  into  the  Island 
of  Britain  (later  England)  more  than  a  thousand  years 
before.  As  we  have  seen,  the  early  home  of  these 
people  was  in  what  is  now  Germany.  Therefore  we 
must  go  back  to  the  gloomy  forests  of  the  Rhine  and 
the  Elbe  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  political  life  from 
which  our  system  of  government  has  grown. 

By  good  fortune  we  are  enabled  to  do  this  ;  for,  a 
little  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  Tacitus,  a 
Roman  historian,  wrote  an  account  of  these  people  of 
the  woods  and  the  marshes,  to  whom  such  great  interest 
attaches  to-day. 

At  that  time  nearly  all  the  civilized  people  of  the 
world  were  embraced  within  the  boundaries  of  the  great 
Roman  Empire.  It  took  in  all  the  territory  around  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  and  extended  northward  as  far  as 
the  river  Danube  and  the  river  Rhine.  These  two 
streams,  rising  near  one  another  and  flowing,  one  east- 
ward and  southward,  the  other  northward  and  westward, 
made  a  nearly  unbroken  line  extending  from  the  Black 
Sea  to  the  North  Sea. 


4      GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

On  one  side  of  this  line  were  cultivated  fields,  good 
dwellings,  admirable  roads,  and  large  cities.  In  short, 
here  was  the  home  of  the  most  advanced  people  of  that 
time,  who  had  a  civilization  not  very  different  from  our 
own.  But  on  the  other  side  of  the  line  all  was  different. 
The  country  was  wild,  dark,  cold,  and  forbidding.  It 
was  a  land  where  the  forests  were  as  yet  almost  un- 
broken, except  for  occasional  spots  which  were  under  a 
rude  system  of  cultivation.  There  were  no  roads,  no 
bridges  across  the  streams,  and  no  cities.  The  people 
who  lived  there  were  not  civilized,  but  barbarous,  some- 
what as  were  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations  in  what  is 
now  Central  New  York. 

And  yet  these  people,  the  early  Germans,  were  our 
ancestors.  Even  in  their  barbarous  state  they  had 
some  of  the  personal  and  political  traits  for  which  their 
descendants  have  become  justly  famed.  Among  these 
were,  especially,  courage  in  war  and  the  love  of  per- 
sonal freedom.  The  German  warriors  were  the  terror 
of  all  their  foes.  Gathered  round  some  chosen  leader 
they  often  attacked  the  Romans  for  the  sake  of  the 
plunder  which  Roman  lands  and  cities  afforded.  The 
Roman  soldiers  noted  the  huge  size  of  these  barbarians 
and  had  good  reason  to  dread  the  fierceness  of  their  on- 
set, because  the  Germans  always  fought  for  victory. 
Even  Caesar  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  them  fifty 
years  before  Christ.  As  time  went  on  and  the  Ger- 
man tribes  became  more  united,  the  difficulties  of  the 
Romans  increased.  It  became  harder  and  harder  to 
keep  the  Germans  from  breaking  into  the  Empire  to 
rob  and  plunder,  or  to  settle  down  upon  the  well  tilled 
lands  which  were  so  much  more  fruitful  than  their  own. 
At  last  they  actually  conquered  the  Roman  Empire, 
which  up  to  that  time  had  ruled  the  world. 


INTRODUCTION  S 

The  Political  System  of  the  Germans.  We  have 
said  that  we  get  our  ideas  of  government  from  the  early- 
Germans.  What  are  these  ideas  ?  ^  At  first  sight  this 
barbarous  people  hardly  seems  to  have  had  a  political 
system,  and  yet  the  beginnings  were  there.  Every 
German,  like  every  American  Indian,  belonged  to  some 
tribe.2  As  the  Indians  were  Sioux,  Mohawks,  or  Chero- 
kees,  so  the  Germans  were  Goths,  Lombards,  or  Van- 
dals. A  tribe  was  simply  a  number  of  people  speaking 
the  same  dialect  and  having  some  idea  of  blood  relation- 
ship. They  did  not  live  all  together  in  a  compact  terri- 
tory, but  were  scattered  over  a  large  tract  of  country, 
just  as  the  Indians  were.  Like  them,  too,  they  lived  in 
groups.  Those  who  were  very  closely  related  by  blood 
formed  a  village,  and  this  broke  the  tribe  up  into  a  num- 
ber of  somewhat  separate  parts.  Looked  at  in  another 
way,  therefore,  the  tribe  may  be  said  to  have  been  made 
up  of  a  considerable  number  of  villages  whose  inhab- 
itants were  closely  related  by  blood.  These  villages 
were  really  more  important  in  some  ways  than  the  tribe 
itself,  for  here  the  people  lived  close  together  and  had 
to  make  exact  rules  to  govern  their  relations  to  one  an- 
other. The  German  village  was  probably  a  row  or  two 
of  rudely  built  huts,  each  hut  having  a  small  plot  of 
,ground  about  it.  This  land  belonged  to  the  household 
itself,  to  be  used  as  the  members  saw  fit.  Outside  of 
the  village  was  a  large  field,  which,  unlike  the  house 
lots,  was  used  by  the  villagers  in  common.  That  is  to 
say,  no  individual  man  owned  any  part  of  it  absolutely, 
but  each  head  of  a  family  received  a  strip  or  several 

^  See  Stubbs,  Constitutional  History  of  England^  i.,  chapter  ii. 

2  On  the  political  arrangements  of  the  barbarous  Indians,  which 
closely  resemble  those  of  the  Germans,  see  Fiske's  History  of  the 
United  States^  pp.  4-7. 


6      GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

strips  each  spring  to  cultivate  during  the  summer.  The 
next  year  another  distribution  would  be  made  by  lot,  no 
man  perhaps  securing  the  same  strips  of  field  two  years 
in  succession.  This  is  the  kind  of  primitive  farming 
arrangements  which  has  received  the  name  of  "  the 
common  field  system."  It  remained  in  use  in  some 
form  for  a  very  long  period.  Even  now,  in  some  parts 
of  England  and  of  Germany,  there  are  traces  of  it  in 
the  ridges  which  at  one  time  made  the  boundaries  be- 
tween these  strips  in  the  common  fields. 

The  early  Germans,  however,  were  much  more  inter- 
ested in  raising  cattle  and  sheep  than  they  were  in  till- 
ing the  soil.  Therefore  each  village  had  a  large  tract 
of  waste  land  or  woodland,  which  was  used  as  a  common 
pasture  by  all  of  the  villagers.  Here  some  one  of  their 
number  herded  the  cows  and  sheep  belonging  to  them 
all,  doubtless  receiving  food  from  them  in  payment  for 
the  work.  Thus  there  were  three  kinds  of  land,  so  far 
as  the  rights  of  an  individual  in  it  were  concerned  :  the 
house  lot  which  was  his  own,  the  common  field  in  which 
he  drew  his  strips  each  year,  and  the  waste  or  pasture 
into  which  he  turned  his  cattle  with  those  of  his  neigh- 
bors and  kinsmen.  This  was  a  rather  complex  system, 
requiring  a  good  deal  of  regulation,  and  therefore  some 
kind  of  government  was  absolutely  necessary.  It  was 
also  needed  to  settle  disputes  between  individuals,  to 
punish  offenders,  and  in  general  to  keep  the  affairs  of 
the  village  from  falling  into  disorder. 

For  these  purposes  the  villagers  made  their  own  gov- 
ernment. We  do  not  know  the  details  of  it,  but  it  is 
supposed  that  the  freemen  came  together  each  spring, 
perhaps  under  a  sacred  tree,  and  there  allotted  to  each 
man  his  strips  of  field,  made  rules  about  the  number  of 
cattle  and  sheep  each  family  could  turn  into  the  wood- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

land  and  pasture,  punished  the  less  serious  crimes,  ad- 
mitted new  members  to  the  village,  etc.  In  fact,  this 
village  gathering  of  our  Germanic  ancestors  was  a  good 
deal  like  a  New  England  town  meeting,  with  which 
it  is  often  compared.  Thus  the  villagers  lived  together 
and  attended  to  their  own  local  needs. 

But  we  have  not  forgotten  that  they  were  also  mem- 
bers of  a  tribe.  Matters  of  common  interest  to  all  the 
villages,  such  as  wars  with  neighboring  people,  had  to 
be  settled  by  a  government  which  could  act  for  the  whole 
tribe.  Here  again  the  Germans  showed  their  love  for 
self-government  by  each  man  taking  a  personal  part  in 
the  tribal  assembly.  At  an  appointed  time,  new  moon 
or  full  moon,  all  who  were  old  enough  to  bear  arms  would 
get  together  at  some  central  place.  They  always  came 
armed  with  the  regular  weapons  of  warfare,  the  spear 
and  the  shield.  In  the  assembly  one  man  had  just  as 
good  a  right  to  speak  as  another,  and  when  any  one 
spoke  in  such  a  way  as  to  please  his  hearers  they  ap- 
plauded by  striking  their  shields  with  their  spears. 

In  these  assemblies  some  tribes  elected  kings,  and  all 
chose  officers  called  princes,  to  govern  over  a  smaller 
division  called  the  canton^  which  was  a  sort  of  halfway 
house  between  the  village  and  the  tribe.  The  assem- 
blies also  acted  as  courts  of  justice,  and  issued  orders 
for  the  hanging  of  traitors  and  the  smothering  of  cow- 
ards in  the  mire.  Each  canton  had  also  a  court  in  which 
the  freemen  took  part.  Hence  the  Germanic  system  of 
government  was  made  up  of  three  parts,  the  village,  the 
canton,  and  the  tribe.  The  village  was  much  like  our 
township,  because  all  had  a  part  in  the  government ;  the 
canton  a  little  like  our  county,  and  the  tribe  in  some 
ways  like  our  state,  or  like  a  small  independent  nation. 

The  Political  System  of  the  Germans  as  modified 


8      GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

by  the  Settlers  in  Britain.  As  we  already  know,  the 
Island  of  Britain,  now  England,  was  conquered  by  cer- 
tain German  tribes  (Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes)  in  449 
A.  D.  That  is  to  say,  in  that  year  a  band  of  German 
warriors,  crossing  over  in  ships,  landed  near  London 
and  began  to  conquer  the  country.  As  time  went  on, 
more  and  more  Germans  came,  each  band  with  its 
leader,  and  continued  the  warfare  until  the  Celts,  as  the 
natives  were  called,  had  been  either  slaughtered  or 
driven  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  This  was 
accomplished  by  about  the  year  600  a.  d. 

Now  these  warlike  bands,  coming  over  usually  with 
their  wives  and  children,  and  sometimes  bringing  their 
cattle  too,  naturally  wished  to  settle  upon  the  land*they 
conquered.  In  doing  so,  what  plan  would  they  follow  ? 
There  can  be  but  one  answer.  They  would  do  as  people 
always  do,  —  follow  the  plan  they  were  used  to.  The 
closely  related  families  grouped  together  and  got  per- 
mission to  settle  in  some  spot  which  they  liked.  Here 
appeared  the  village,^  with  its  rows  of  huts  and  its  house 
lots,  the  common  field  near  by,  and  the  meadow,  pasture, 
and  woodland  at  a  distance.  Here  too  was  reproduced 
the  Germanic  village  government  by  all  the  freemen 
uniting  together.  In  like  manner  the  tribal  assembly 
and  the  court  of  the  canton  appeared  in  England.  There 
was,  however,  a  change  of  names.  The  village  was -now 
called  the  township  (tunscipe),^  and  the  canton  was 
known  as  the  hundred.  This  name  may  have  been 
derived  from  the  fact  that  the  district  called  the  hun- 
dred furnished  a  hundred  armed  men  when  the  tribe 
engaged  in  war. 

*  For  the  reproduction  of  the  Germanic  village  in  England  see 
Green,  Short  History  of  the  English  People^  pp.  1-4. 

*  So  called  from  the  "  tun,"  or  hedge  surrounding  the  village. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

The  tribal  assembly  became  the  shire  court,  and  this 
change  requires  a  word  of  explanation.  In  the  course 
of  the  fighting  against  the  Celts,  the  tribes  had  seen  the 
need  of  having  a  single  ruler,  who  should  hold  office 
steadily  during  a  number  of  years.  Therefore  they 
chose  kings,  and  allowed  them  to  become  life  rulers. 
In  this  manner  the  conquering  tribes  became  small 
local  kingdoms,  each  independent  of  all  the  others. 
When,  about  600  a.  d.,  the  tribes  or  kingdoms  got 
through  fighting  the  Celts,  they  naturally  fell  to  fight- 
ing  one  another.  Of  course  they  were  not  all  of  equal 
strength,  and  the  result  was  that  the  weaker  ones  lost 
their  independence  and  became  parts  of  the  stronger 
kingdoms  which  had  overpowered  them.  Finally  these 
larger  kingdoms  warred  among  themselves  until  but 
one  was  left,  and  that  now  included  all  the  rest. 

What  then  became  of  the  earlier  kingdoms }  Were 
they  entirely  destroyed  ?  Not  at  all.  They  were 
allowed  to  remain  as  subordinate  parts  of  the  larger 
kingdom,  with  local  governments  of  their  own,  but  with 
certain  officers  who  were  responsible  to  the  king  of  the 
whole  country,  the  ruler  of  England.  The  name  shire, 
meaning  "  share  "  of  the  larger  kingdom,  was  given  to 
such  divisions.  Afterwards  they  were  often  called  coun- 
ties.   By  this  name  we  shall  speak  of  them  henceforth. 

The  Rise  of  Representative  Government.  We  have 
said  that  the  old  Germanic  system  of  government  by 
three  divisions,  village,  canton,  and  tribe,  reappeared  in 
England  in  the  form  of  township,  hundred,  and  county. 
But  a  difference  in  the  method  of  carrying  on  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  last  two  gradually  came  in.  All  the 
freemen  met  in  the  town  meeting,  just  as  they  did  in 
the  village  meeting  in  Germany ;  but  they  did  not  all 
attend  the  hundred  court  or  the  county  court.     Instead, 


lO    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

each  township  sent  its  representatives,  consisting  of  the 
reeve,  or  head  officer,  the  parish  priest,  and  four  "  best 
men,"  which  probably  means  leading  men  of  the  town- 
ship. These  attended  both  the  hundred  court  and  the 
county  court.  Other  freemen  had  a  right  to  attend  the 
county  court  if  they  chose  to  do  so. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  in  England,  as  among  the 
early  Germans,  there  was  local  self-government,  but  it 
was  in  some  measure  representative.  We  see,  also,  that 
another  part  has  been  added  to  the  system.  The  Ger- 
mans had  three  parts,  beginning  with  the  village  and 
ending  with  the  tribe ;  the  English  had  four,  beginning 
with  the  township  and  ending  with  the  government  of 
the  nation.  This  national  government  was  made  up  of 
the  king  and  a  body  of  men  who  at  first  helped  the  king 
to  make  laws.  It  was  called  the  Witan,  or  council  of 
"wise  men,"  and  included  usually  the  king's  great 
officers,  the  head  men  of  the  church,  such  as  bishops 
and  archbishops,  and  the  head  men  or  aldermen  of  the 
county.  The  common  freemen  did  not  get  as  far  as  the 
national  government.  They  were  represented  in  the 
county  court,  and  might  attend  it  in  person  if  they 
chose.  But  they  got  no  higher  than  the  county  court. 
Here  was  a  great  danger  and  difficulty.  How  could 
men  preserve  their  rights  as  freemen  if  they  had  no  in- 
fluence in  the  national  government  which  made  the 
laws  and  managed  the  most  important  affairs  ? 

Extension  of  the  Representative  Idea.  The  way  in 
which  this  question  was  settled  by  the  English  people 
has  been  a  great  lesson  to  all  nations.  They  simply 
extended  the  idea  of  representation,  with  which  they 
were  familiar  in  their  local  governments,  so  as  to  give 
them  a  part  in  national  affairs  as  well.  Men  chosen  by 
these  local  governments  at  last  made  up  one  house  in 


INTRODUCTION  II 

the  Parliament,  and  that  house  (the  House  of  Commons) 
had  most  to  do  with  matters  of  taxation.  The  people 
then  had  hold  of  the  purse-strings  of  the  nation,  and  by 
managing  them  wisely  they  could  keep  the  king  pretty 
completely  under  their  control.  For  no  nation  can  get 
along  without  money  to  pay  its  expenses,  and  those  who 
control  the  supply  of  money  will,  in  the  long  run,  con- 
trol the  government.  This  result  was  not  reached  at 
once.  It  took  centuries  of  time  and  a  constant  and 
determined  effort  to  enable  the  freemen  to  win  the 
right  to  control  taxation.  The  story  of  that  struggle 
makes  up  a  considerable  part  of  the  political  history  of 
England,  and  we  can  only  give  a  few  hints  to  show  how 
the  process  was  carried  on. 

In  the  first  place  we  have  to  remember  that,  following 
the  custom  of  the  early  Germans,  the  people  of  the 
English  townships  and  counties  had  the  right  to  lay 
taxes  upon  themselves.  When  the  king  wanted  money 
he  would  have  the  sheriff  of  the  county  make  arrange- 
ments for  it  with  the  representatives  of  the  people,  who 
got  together  in  the  county  court.  Sometimes  he  sent  a 
special  officer  to  make  such  arrangements.  The  impor- 
tant point  in  this  whole  matter  is  that  the  property  of 
Englishmen  could  not  be  taken  from  them,  even  by  the 
king,  without  their  having  something  to  say  about  it 
themselves.  As  time  went  on  and  the  needs  of  the 
king  grew  greater,  there  was  a  strong  effort  to  tax  the 
people  in  new  and  burdensome  ways.  A  part  of  the 
people  were  lords  or  barons,  who,  as  individuals,  had 
the  right  to  consent  to  taxes  levied  upon  them.  But 
kings  violated  this  right  whenever  they  could  do  so 
with  safety.  Finally,  in  12 15  the  barons  made  war  upon 
King  John  and  compelled  him  to  sign  the  Great  Charter,^ 
*  See  Green,  Short  History^  chapter  iii. 


12     GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

by  which  he  definitely  gave  up  the  right  to  tax  them 
(except  for  three  special  purposes)  without  their  con- 
sent. 

For  the  purpose  of  giving  this  consent  the  king  was 
to  call  all  the  barons,  including  the  heads  of  the  church, 
to  a  common  council  of  the  kingdom.  This  body,  which 
was  not  new,  but  was  now  definitely  established,  became 
the  House  of  Lords  in  the  English  Parliament.  Before 
the  end  of  the  century  (1295)  the  House  of  Commons, 
of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  was  added.  It  was 
made  up  of  two  classes,  members  elected  to  represent 
the  counties,  and  other  members  chosen  from  the  bor- 
oughs or  towns. 

One  reason  why  King  Edward  the  First  (in  1295) 
called  these  classes  to  the  common  council  or  Parlia- 
ment was  that  this  was  the  most  convenient  way  of  lay- 
ing taxes  upon  the  people.  Instead  of  sending  a  justice 
or  other  officer  to  the  county  court  to  bargain  with  the 
people  of  the  county  and  the  towns  as  to  how  much 
money  they  were  willing  to  raise  for  the  king,  he  now 
had  them  send  men  to  London  to  talk  with  him  per- 
sonally about  the  matter.  In  this  way  the  king  could 
probably  make  a  better  bargain,  and  at  any  rate  the 
method  was  a  much  more  convenient  one.  King  Ed- 
ward the  First  did  not  suspect  that  this  body  of  men 
would  finally  control  the  government  through  their 
right  to  consent  to  taxation,  but  that  is  exactly  what 
happened. 

Other  Forms  of  Representation.  These  men,  the 
knights  of  the  shires  and  burgesses  of  the  towns,  repre- 
sented the  entire  population  of  the  county  or  the  town 
which  elected  them.  This  shows  how  the  representa- 
tive idea  worked  up  through  the  entire  system.  Other 
forms  of  it  grew  up  in  England,  some  of  which  are  of 


INTRODUCTION  13 

the  greatest  interest  to  Americans.  One  of  these  is  the 
jury.^  It  arose  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies, in  some  such  way  as  this  :  the  local  townships  and 
hundreds  were  held  responsible  for  all  crimes  committed 
within  their  boundaries.  In  11 66,  the  king^  ordered 
that  four  men  of  each  township  and  twelve  men  of 
each  hundred  should  hunt  out  all  law-breakers  in  their 
townships  and  hundreds,  and  bring  them  before  the 
judge  to  be  tried  for  their  crimes.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  grand  jury,  which  hears  charges  against 
a  man,  and  if  the  charges  are  thought  to  be  true  presents 
him  for  trial,  or  "  indicts  "  him.  The  trial  now  takes  place 
before  another  body  of  men,  always  twelve  in  number, 
called  the  trial  jury  or  petit  jury.  This  jury  system, 
which  is  considered  one  of  the  greatest  safeguards  of 
personal  liberty,  grew  up  in  England  long  before  the 
colonists  began  to  come  to  America.  Since  the  juries 
were  supposed  to  act  in  place  of  the  communities  which 
chose  them,  we  see  that  this  is  simply  another  form  of 
representation. 

Local  Governments  about  1600.  We  are  now  ready 
to  take  a  glance  at  the  English  system  of  local  govern- 
ment as  it  was  about  the  time  that  America  began  to  be 
settled  by  Englishmen.  Many  changes  had  occurred 
in  the  thousand  years  since  the  Saxons  brought  in  the 
Germanic  township,  hundred,  and  county  ;  and  yet  to 
a  surprising  extent  the  old  principles  of  government 
remained.^ 

The  old  township  had  generally  been  succeeded  by 

^  On  the  jury  as  a  form  of  representation,  see  Taylor,  Origin 
and  Growth  of  the  English  Constitution^  i.  202-207. 

2  Henry  11.  (i  135-1189).  His  reign  is  notable  for  the  great  polit- 
ical reforms  brought  about  by  him. 

8  Taylor,  ii.  183-194. 


14    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

the  parish,^  which  was  originally  the  district  of  a  priest, 
and  had  a  meeting  for  the  management  of  church  affairs 
only.  But  as  time  passed  the  old  free  townships  came 
more  and  more  under  the  control  of  the  lords,  and  lost 
their  right  of  managing  their  own  affairs.  Afterwards 
the  parish,  which  occupied  the  same  territory  as  the  older 
township,  gradually  acquired  the  right,  and  was  given 
the  duty,  .of  attending  to  many  of  the  public  matters 
that  the  township  had  once  looked  after. 

The  hundred  had  long  since  dropped  out  or  had  be- 
come merely  the  name  of  a  geographical  division  of  the 
county.  There  remained  the  towns  or  boroughs  and  the 
counties.  The  boroughs  grew  up  mainly  after  the  Saxon 
conquest,  often  on  the  lands  of  some  great  lord,  of  the 
king,  or  of  the  church.  After  a  while,  as  trade  grew, 
they  became  wealthy,  and  then  they  bought  off  the 
lord's  right  of  governing  them  and  had  self-government. 
Sometimes  the  kings  granted  them  charters  giving  cer- 
tain specified  rights.  But  self-government  in  the  towns 
did  not  mean  that  all  the  townsmen  had  a  right  to  take 
part  in  the  management  of  public  affairs.  In  fact,  power 
came  to  be  confined  to  a  very  few  who  made  up  what 
was  called  "the  corporation."  It  usually  contained  a 
mayor,  recorder,  aldermen,  and  common  councilmen. 
These  men  had  the  right  to  govern  the  town,  and 
usually  to  choose  the  representatives  to  Parliament. 

The  county  government  had  changed  very  greatly. 

^  When  the  Roman  church  was  organized  in  England,  during  the 
seventh  century,  the  lowest  church  officer,  the  priest,  was  placed 
over  a  district  which  usually  had  the  same  boundaries  as  the 
Anglo-Saxon  township.  The  men  of  the  township,  then,  were 
members  of  the  parish  church.  By  and  by  the  political  townships 
were  generally  changed  to  manors  ;  but  these  men  still  made  up  the 
parish  church,  and  they  managed  its  affairs  by  means  of  a  parish 
meeting,  /.  ^.,  popular  assembly. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

Instead  of  the  old  county  court,  in  which  representa- 
tives of  the  townships  and  hundreds  managed  the  busi- 
ness affairs  of  the  county  and  made  up  a  court  of  justice, 
there  was  now  a  court  of  "quarter  sessions."  It  was 
made  up  of  a  number  of  "justices  of  the  peace,"  who 
were  appointed  by  the  king.  This  court  managed  the 
affairs  of  the  county,  and  tried  a  large  class  of  cases  and 
minor  offenses.  It  was  a  legislature,  an  executive,  and  a 
judiciary  all  in  one.  The  sheriff  was  under  the  orders 
of  the  justices  and  carried  out  their  decrees.  The  jus- 
tices were  usually  wealthy  landholders,  and  had  great 
social  and  political  importance.  Their  public  duties 
were  so  varied  that  they  have  been  called  the  "  states- 
men of  all  work."  About  the  only  remaining  reason  for 
the  meeting  of  the  old  county  court  was  the  election  of 
members  of  Parliament,  and  in  such  cases  the  sheriff 
presided  over  the  meeting. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  county  government  in  Eng- 
land, when  the  colonists  began  to  come  to  America,  was 
far  from  being  democratic.  There  was  only  one  popular 
assembly  in  the  entire  system,  and  that  was  the  vestry 
or  meeting  of  the  parish.^  It  elected  church  wardens, 
who  were  a  kind  of  board  of  supervisors ;  it  also  chose 
overseers  of  the  poor,  a  constable,  and  several  waymen, 
or  road  overseers.  *  It  discussed  local  affairs  and  levied 
taxes  for  the  support  of  the  church,  the  repair  of  roads, 
and  the  care  of  the  poor. 

SUMMARY 

Governments  grow  as  naturally  as  do  plants.  They  also 
change  in  form  and  character  in  much  the  same  way.  The 
change  is  very  slow  and  gradual,  like  that  which  takes  place 
in  a  language. 

^  Sometimes  this  also  was  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men. 


l6    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

American  ideas  of  government  came  directly  from  the  Eng- 
lish colonists ;  but  the  English  people  had  derived  them  in 
part  from  the  early  Germans.  The  Germans,  as  described  by 
Tacitus,  had  a  political  system  which  embraced  three  parts : 
(a)  the  village,  {b)  the  canton,  {c)  the  tribe.  The  idea  of  self- 
government  was  strongly  developed  among  them. 

When  certain  of  these  German  tribes  conquered  Britain, 
449  to  600  A.  D.,  they  set  up  a  similar  political  system  there. 
The  German  village  became  the  early  English  township,  the 
canton  became  the  hundred,  and  the  tribe  became  the  shire 
or  county.  The  people  still  managed  their  local  affairs  in  the 
town-meeting,  the  hundred  court,  and  the  shire  or  county 
court.  But  they  did  this  partly  by  means  of  representation. 
Townships  sent  representatives  to  the  hundred  court  and  the 
county  court.  The  jury  was  another  form  of  representation, 
used  in  judicial  matters. 

In  time  the  idea  of  representation  was  extended  to  the  na- 
tional government,  the  counties  and  boroughs  sending  men  to 
Parliament  to  look  after  their  interests.  These  men,  who 
made  up  the  House  of  Commons,  gained  great  power  in  the 
government  because  they  had  the  right  to  determine  what 
taxes  should  be  paid  by  the  people  for  the  support  of  the 
king  and  the  government. 

England  therefore  had  a  liberal  form  of  government,  in 
which  the  people  had  many  rights  and  privileges.  These 
ideas  of  government  were  carried  to  the  American  colonies 
by  the  English  settlers.  They  also  brought  over  the  forms 
of  local  government  to  which  they  were  accustomed.  These 
were  :  {a)  the  county,  with  its  court  of  appointed  justices  \ 
{b)  the  borough,  governed  by  a  corporation  ;  {c)  the  parish, 
which  had  a  popular  assembly  for  both  church  and  local  polit- 
ical matters. 


CHAPTER  I 

LOCAL   GOVERNMENT   IN   VIRGINIA   AND    MASSACHUSETTS 

The  First  English  Colonies.^  In  the  year  1607  a 
company  of  Englishmen  settled  at  Jamestown  in  Vir- 
ginia. For  a  few  years  there  was  a  struggle  to  keep 
the  settlement  alive,  but  after  that  the  colony  began  to 
prosper,  and  many  people  came  from  England  to  cast  in 
their  lot  with  the  Virginians.  New  settlements  were 
planted  further  up  the  James  River  and  on  the  neigh- 
boring streams  ;  tobacco  raising  soon  began,  and  every 
one  was  hopeful. 

By  1620  another  group  of  Englishmen  were  establish- 
ing themselves  at  Plymouth  on  Cape  Cod.  They  were 
the  "  Pilgrims,"  who,  finding  life  hard  and  the  outlook 
for  themselves  and  their  children  very  dark  in  Holland, 
were  seeking  homes  on  the  shores  of  America.  Ten 
years  later,  1630,  a  large  body  of  English  Puritans  ar- 
rived at  Massachusetts  Bay.  With  their  coming  began 
the  rapid  settlement  of  New  England.  From  Massa- 
chusetts as  a  centre,  colonists  went  to  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire.  Thus  we  have  the 
beginnings  of  American  colonization  in  the  South  and 
in  the  North. 

The  Colonists  bring  English  Institutions.  We  know 
that  men  cannot  break  suddenly  with  their  past.  As 
they  are  accustomed  to  think  and  act,  so  they  will  con- 

'  On  the  planting  of  the  Virginia  colony,  see  Fiske,  History 
of  the  United  States^  pp.  67-70  ;  on  New  England,  lb.  pp.  88-97. 


l8    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE  AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

tinue  to  think  and  act,  unless  some  unusual  conditions 
force  them  into  new  paths.  So  it  came  about  that  the 
English  ideas  of  local  government  were  transplanted  to 
the  James  River  and  Massachusetts  Bay. 

We  have  seen  what  these  ideas  were,  and  what  were 
the  parts  of  the  local  system.  There  was  first  the 
county,  with  its  justices  of  the  peace,  its  sheriff,  its  court 
of  quarter  sessions,  and  a  *'  county  court "  for  choosing 
members  of  Parliament.  Below  the  county  was  the 
parish,  which  had  church  wardens,  overseers  of  the 
poor,  a  constable,  and  waymen  to  care  for  the  roads.  It 
had  the  only  democratic  assembly  of  the  time  in  its 
parish  meeting  or  vestry,  where  the  people  imposed 
taxes  upon  themselves,  chose  officers  by  vote,  and  dis- 
cussed local  affairs.  These,  with  the  borough  or  town 
government,  were  the  elements  which  entered  into  the 
American  system. 

A  Colony  resembles  a  County.  When  men  from 
England  settled  in  Virginia  or  in  Massachusetts,  they 
still  thought  of  themselves  as  Englishmen,  and  looked 
upon  their  colony  as  a  part  of  England,  although  it  was 
a  little  hard  to  tell  just  what  kind  of  a  part  it  made. 
The  local  division  which  the  colony  most  nearly  re- 
sembled was  the  county.  Therefore,  while  they  were 
small  in  extent,  each  colony  looked  upon  itself  as  a  sort 
of  transplanted  English  county,  an  American  Yorkshire, 
Suffolk,  or  Middlesex.  In  fact.  Captain  John  Mason, 
the  proprietor  of  New  Hampshire,  called  his  territory, 
*'My  county  of  New  Hampshire  in  New  England." 

The  government  of  the  colony  was  most  like  the 
English  county  government.  It  had  its  general  court, 
which  in  several  colonies  was  at  first  attended  by  all  the 
freemen  ;  it  also  had  justices  appointed  by  the  governor. 
The  court  held  by  them  was  sometimes  called  the  "quar- 


IN    VIRGINIA   AND    MASSACHUSETTS  19 

ter  sessions."  But  when  the  people  became  numerous 
and  extended  over  a  large  area,  it  was  inconvenient  for 
them  to  attend  t;he  general  court,  and  then  the  colony 
was  divided  into  several  parts.  A  court  was  now  held 
in  each  of  these  divisions,  which,  following  the  English 
custom,  were  called  counties.  By  and  by  the  counties 
bore  some  such  relation  to  the  colonial  government  as 
the  English  county  bore  to  the  government  of  the 
kingdom. 

In  both  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  there  were  local 
divisions  smaller  than  the  county,  which  went  by  vari- 
ous names,  such  as  plantations,  townships,  or  towns  in 
Massachusetts ;  boroughs,  plantations,  or  cities  in  Vir- 
ginia. When  in  161 9  a  general  assembly  was  held  in 
Virginia,  the  members  were  chosen  from  "boroughs," 
and  the  assembly  itself  took  the  name,  "  House  of  Bur- 
gesses." It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  Virginia  people 
expected  to  have  real  towns  in  their  colony. 

Virginia  a  Planting  Colony.^  In  spite  of  the  expec- 
tations of  the  early  colonists,  who  planted  what  they 
called  a  "city"  in  every  great  bend  of  James  River, 
towns  refused  to  grow  on  Virginia  soil.  It  grew  tobacco 
magnificently,  but  tobacco  culture  drew  the  people  apart 
on  large  plantations,  thus  spreading  the  population  thinly 
over  a  large  territory.  At  one  time,  we  are  told,  the 
tobacco-planting  craze  went  so  far  that  the  streets  of 
Williamsburg,  the  colonial  capital,  were  set  with  rows 
of  the  precious  weed.  People  did  not  care  to  live  in 
towns.  The  soil  was  rich,  the  climate  mild,  and  every 
one  tried  to  get  plenty  of  land  and  make  money. 

The  Virginia  planters  had  the  same  kind  of  church 

^  On  the  beginnings  and  effects  of  tobacco  culture  in  Virginia, 
see  Fiske,  Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neighbours,  i.  174-177;  also  230, 
231. 


20    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

organization  that  they  were  used  to  in  England,  but  on 
account  of  this  scattering  of  the  population  it  was  im- 
possible to  have  the  kind  of  parish  meetings  that  the 
people  of  the  English  villages  had.  There  the  parish 
was  very  small  in  area ;  in  Virginia,  where  a  tract  of  a 
thousand  acres  often  had  but  a  single  family  upon  it, 
the  parishes  were  necessarily  very  large.  They  were 
often  of  the  same  extent  as  the  counties,  and  for  this 
reason  a  general  meeting  of  the  parishioners  could  not 
be  held.  In  place  of  such  a  democratic  assembly  for  the 
management  of  parish  affairs,  the  Virginia  parish  chose 
its  vestrymen  once  for  all,  and  placed  practically  com- 
plete power  in  their  hands.  The  vestrymen  taxed  the 
people  for  the  support  of  the  church,  kept  the  building 
in  repair,  provided  for  the  rector,  and  filled  vacancies  in 
their  own  number.  Some  minor  political  matters,  such 
as  overseeing  the  poor,  were  also  cared  for  by  the  parish 
officers.  This  was,  of  course,  the  very  opposite  of 
democracy,  for  the  vestrymen  held  office  for  life,  and 
their  successors  even  then  were  not  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple, but  by  the  remaining  members  of  the  vestry.  In 
this  respect  the  Virginia  parishes  resembled  many  of 
the  English  boroughs. 

The  Virginia  County  Governnient.  The  county  was 
governed  in  the  early  time  by  a  court  of  eight  justices 
appointed  by  the  governor.  A  sheriff  and  a  county 
lieutenant,  afterwards  called  colonel,  were  also  appointed 
by  the  governor.  The  county  court  met  once  a  month. 
It  tried  all  ordinary  suits  and  all  criminal  cases  not 
of  the  most  serious  character.  Patrick  Henry's  famous 
speech  in  the  "  Parson's  cause  "  was  made  before  the 
county  court  of  Hanover  County.  His  father  was  at 
the  time  one  of  the  justices  and  had  previously  been 
the  colonel   of  the   county   militia.      This   court  also 


IN   VIRGINIA  AND   MASSACHUSETTS  21 

levied  taxes,  provided  for  roads  and  bridges,  appointed 
surveyors  or  overseers  of  highways  and  marked  off  their 
districts,  appointed  constables,  made  ferry  rates,  voted 
bounty  on  wolf  scalps,  granted  licenses,  admitted  attor- 
neys to  practice,  etc.  It  was  the  governing  power  of 
the  county. 

In  all  these  respects  the  county  court  was  almost 
exactly  like  the  EngUsh  court  of  quarter  sessions,  ex- 
cept that  it  met  oftener.  There  was,  however,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  freemen  of  the  county  once  a  year  for 
the  election  of  burgesses.  This  was  like  the  English 
county  court  in  which  the  voters  met  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  members  of  Parliament.  In  Virginia,  as 
in  England,  such  meetings  were  presided  over  by  the 
sheriff. 

Conditions  in  Massachusetts.  We  must  now  return 
to  the  northern  colony,  where  a  very  different  system 
grew  up.  Conditions  in  Massachusetts  were  as  favor- 
able to  the  growth  of  towns  as  those  in  Virginia  were 
unfavorable.  In  the  first  place  the  settlers  came  as 
church  congregations.^  They  wished  to  settle  close 
together  in  order  to  attend  the  same  church.  So  they 
bought  or  took  land,  not  as  individuals,  but  as  organized 
companies.  Then,  too,  the  soil  and  the  climate  were 
both  against  extensive  farming.  Each  family  was  satis- 
fied with  a  few  acres,  and  therefore  the  entire  congre- 
gation was  able  to  group  itself  compactly  around  the 
church  as  a  centre.  As  time  went  on  a  considerable 
number  of  such  groups  was  to  be  found  in  Massachu- 
setts and  the  other'  northern  colonies.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  New  England  townships.  We  see  at  once 
that  they  were  very  much  like  the  parishes  in  England. 
Like  them  they  took  care  of  church  matters ;  like  them 

1  See  on  this  topic  Bryce,  A?nerican  Commonwealth^  edition  of 
1894,  i.  590,  591. 


22    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

they  also  had  a  number  of  things  to  do  which  did  not 
strictly  pertain  to  the  church,  but  were  political  in  their 
nature. 

Township  Government.  Since  these  little  communi- 
ties were  separated  from  others  of  the  same  kind,  and 
since  the  general  court  was  far  away  and  the  quarter  ses- 
sions court  likewise,  it  came  about  naturally  that  they 
managed  their  political  affairs  almost  as  completely  as 
their  church  affairs.  For  this  purpose  they  held  an 
"annual  town  meeting,"^  in  March,  which  was  attended 
by  the  freemen.  In  this  meeting  all  matters  relating  to 
the  welfare  of  the  townsmen  were  discussed  and  deter- 
mined upon.  Taxes  were  levied  for  almost  every  imag- 
inable purpose,  from  the  payment  of  the  minister  and 
schoolmaster  to  a  bounty  for  killing  a  wolf.  Selectmen 
were  chosen,  three,  five,  or  seven  ^  in  number,  who  had 
general  charge  of  town  affairs  during  the  year  and  could 
call  special  meetings.  Among  their  duties  were  the 
care  of  the  poor,  the  oversight  of  schools,  and  the  laying 
out  and  care  of  roads.  In  the  numerous  cases  where  the 
town  became  a  populous  place,  like  Boston,  the  select- 
men actually  performed  the  duties  of  a  city  govern- 
ment. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  selectmen  was  the  town 
clerk.  He  kept  a  record  of  all  town  meetings,  and  also 
of  such  important  matters  as  births,  deaths,  and  mar- 
riages. These  town  records  have  often  been  preserved 
without  a  break  for  nearly  three  hundred  years.  Many 
New  England  towns  have  recently  pubHshed  them,  to 
the  great  advantage  of  historical  study.  In  their  pages 
the  student  can  see  the  tract  of  wild  land  become  the 
home  of  industrious  farmers ;  the  farms  divide  up  into 
village  lots  ;  the  village  become  an  important  town,  and 
1  See  Bryce,  i.  594-598.  ^  Boston  had  nine. 


IN   VIRGINIA    AND    MASSACHUSETTS  23 

the  town  grow  into  a  great  modern  city,  like  Boston, 
Worcester,  or  Springfield. 

Some  of  the  other  officers  of  the  town  were  the  treas- 
urer, who  collected  and  paid  out  all  town  moneys ;  the 
assessor,  who  made  lists  of  the  property  for  purposes 
of  taxation ;  the  surveyors  of  highways,  or  road  super- 
visors ;  the  clerk  of  the  market,  who  enforced  all  market 
regulations  ;  the  fence-viewer,  who  saw  to  it  that  all 
fences  were  of  the  required  height  and  strength  to  keep 
out  stock ;  and  the  pound-keeper,  whose  business  it  was 
to  take  up  stray  animals. 

Antiquity  of  the  Town  Meeting.  The  early  New 
England  township  was  usually  a  village.  Its  inhabitants 
were  related,  not  by  blood,  but  by  church  fellowship. 
Therefore  it  was  very  much  like  the  groups  of  families 
which  dwelt  in  the  villages  of  the  early  Germans  and  of , 
the  Anglo-Saxons  in  England.  The  similarity  does  not 
stop  here.  Some  of  the  earliest  New  England  towns 
actually  had  common  fields,  and  many  of  them  had  a 
common  pasture  and  woodland.  In  these  "  commons,'* 
some  of  which  remain  to  this  day  as  city  parks,  the  vil- 
lagers pastured  their  cows  and  fattened  ^  their  pigs,  as 
did  our  ancestors  of  two  thousand  years  ago. 

The  Massachusetts  County.  It  is  clear  from  what 
has  been  said  of  the  importance  of  the  townships  that 
comparatively  little  work  remained  for  the  county  gov- 
ernment in  Massachusetts.  Counties  were  mainly  use- 
ful as  districts  of  convenient  size  for  the  management 
of  the  courts  and  the  militia,  something  like  the  hun- 
dreds in  early  England  and  the  cantons  among  the  Ger- 
mans. It  was  to  bring  the  court  nearer  to  the  people 
that  the  counties  were  formed  in  the  first  place.  In 
early  times  the  county  had  its  quarter  sessions,  which 
1  On  the  "  mast "  or  fall  of  acorns,  etc. 


24     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

had  judicial  powers  similar  to  those  of  the  Virginia 
county  court.  It  also  performed  certain  other  duties, 
such  as  licensing  ferries  and  houses  of  entertainment, 
regulating  tolls,  and  laying  out  county  roads.  The  county 
government  of  Massachusetts  was  therefore  not  far  dif- 
ferent in  origin  from  that  of  Virginia.  But  a  difference 
grew  up  with  the  great  activity  of  the  towns,  which  drew 
to  themselves  an  increasing  share  of  the  local  business. 
Notwithstanding  their  similarity  in  origin,  the  systems  of 
Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  as  finally  fixed  by  custom 
and  use,  were  radically  different.  This  fact  has  become 
prominent  in  the  course  of  the  last  century.  With  the 
westward  march  of  American  institutions  there  is  a  con- 
stant reappearance  of  these  two  types  of  local  govern- 
ment. 

SUMMARY 

England  planted  her  first  American  colony  at  Jamestown  in 
1607.  Another  colony  was  begun  at  Plymouth  in  1620,  and 
one  at  Massachusetts  Bay  about  1630.  Other  colonies  fol- 
lowed. The  colonists  came  with  English  ideas  of  government 
in  mind;  and  they  established  the  English  system  of  local 
government  by  counties  and  parishes  (or  townships)  in  each 
colony,  so  far  as  local  conditions  would  permit.  But  con- 
ditions differed  in  the  different  colonies.  In  Virginia,  on 
account  of  tobacco  culture,  the  people  were  very  much  scat- 
tered, and  it  was  difficult  to  have  parish  meetings.  So  the 
business  of  local  government  was  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the 
county  court,  which  was  made  up  of  justices  appointed  by 
the  governor  of  the  colony. 

In  Massachusetts  the  people  settled  as  church  congrega- 
tions and  formed  villages  or  townships.  These  townships 
had  almost  complete  self-government,  but  were  grouped  into* 
counties  mainly  for  judicial  and  military  reasons. 


CHAPTER  II 

EXPANSION    OF   AMERICAN    INSTITUTIONS 

Influence  of  Virginia  and  New  England  on  the 
Other  Colonies.  We  have  seen  that  the  form  of  local 
government  adopted  by  the  people  of  New  England 
was  the  township  form,  while  that  of  Virginia  was  the 
county  form.  It  was  only  natural  that  as  the  other 
colonies  were  planted  and  grew  up  in  the  neighborhood 
of  New  England  or  of  Virginia  they  should  be  more  or 
less  influenced  by  these  systems.  We  know  that  Vir- 
ginians, for  example,  had  much  to  do  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Carolinas,  for  many  Virginia  people  had 
settled  in  that  country  even  before  the  Carolina  colonies 
were  legally  formed.  Virginia  also  had  a  good  deal  of 
influence  on  the  growth  of  Maryland. 

Likewise  New  England  people  removed  early  to  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  certain 
that  many  of  the  ideas  on  local  government  which  are 
found  in  these  states  were  derived  from  the  "  Yankees.'* 

As  a  result  the  southern  states  of  the  Atlantic  group 
all  have  something  like  the  Virginia  system  of  county 
government,  while  the  northern  states  have  a  system 
which  is  generally  much  more  like  that  of  New  Eng- 
land. Thus  when  the  great  westward  movement  began, 
there  were  two  distinct  forms  of  local  government  which 
the  settlers  carried  with  them  into  the  wilderness. 
Those  from  the  South  took  with  them  the  Virginia 
county,  and  its  government  by  a  few  officers;   those 


26    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

from  the  North  carried  the  New  England  township  and 
the  town  meeting. 

These  facts  might  not  have  had  so  much  importance 
if  there  had  been  a  general  mingling  of  people  of  the 
two  sections  in  the  new  states.  But  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  American  expansion  has  taken  place,  not  from  the 
eastern  states  as  a  whole,  but  from  the  South  as  a  sec- 
tion and  the  North  as  a  section. 

Expansion  of  the  South  Westward.  During  co- 
lonial times  the  people  of  Virginia  and  the  South  pushed 
gradually  up  the  rivers  which  have  their  sources  in  the 
Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  Then  they  took  possession  of 
the  great  valley  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  George  Washington  as  a  young  man  spent 
much  of  his  time  surveying  lands  in  this  region,  which 
was  then  the  "  far  West."  Finally,  just  before  the  Revo- 
lution Daniel  Boone  and  other  pioneers  from  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  crossed  over  to  Kentucky.^  These 
were  the  first  real  settlers  west  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains. They  were  attracted  by  the  beauty  of  the  coun- 
try, the  abundance  of  wild  game,  and  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  These  causes  continued  to  draw  the  restless 
American  on  and  on,  till  the  Great  River  was  reached 
and  crossed,  the  prairies  were  left  behind,  the  mountains 
conquered,  and  the  rich  valleys  of  the  Pacific  won  for 
the  Union  and  for  civilization. 

Kentucky  became  a  state  in  1792,  and  Tennessee  in 
1796.  The  more  southerly  territory  was  found  to  be 
the  best  kind  of  cotton  land,  and  the  raising  of  cotton 
now  became  almost  as  much  of  a  craze  as  tobacco  plant- 
ing was  in  early  Virginia.  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and 
Louisiana  therefore  soon  filled  up  with  settlers,  and 
were  added  to  the  list  of  states.    In  1821  Missouri,  away 

1  See  Roosevelt,  The  Winning  of  the  West^'x.  26,27;  alsoch.  y.i. 


EXPANSION    OF   AMERICAN    INSTITUTIONS     2/ 

out  upon  the  Indian  frontier,  was  added,  and  yet  the 
demand  for  good  cotton  land  was  not  supplied.  Off  to 
the  southwest  lay  Texas,  which  was  originally  a  colony 
of  Mexico.  It  was  known  to  have  a  great  area  of  excel- 
lent land.  So  the  southern  planters  sold  or  abandoned 
their  wornout  fields  in  the  older  states,  and  with  cara- 
vans of  wagons,  droves  of  cattle,  and  bands  of  negro 
slaves  emigrated  to  Texas.  Soon  there  was  a  rebellion, 
in  which  Texas  secured  its  independence  of  Mexico,  and 
in  1845  this  great  state  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

From  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  went  forth  the  trains 
of  emigrants  who  between  1830  and  1850  settled  Oregon 
and  California. 

Expansion  of  the  North  Westward.  After  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  many  New  England  people 
were  anxious  to  find  new  homes  on  the  free  lands  of  the 
West.  They  organized  companies,  bought  from  Con- 
gress large  tracts  in  the  Ohio  country,  and  started  a 
general  emigration.  Ohio  soon  became  a  state.  After 
the  war  of  1812  the  number  of  emigrants  increased 
very  rapidly,  so  that  Indiana  and  Illinois,  settled  partly 
from  the  South  but  principally  from  the  North,  were 
both  admitted  to  the  Union  before  1820.  Then  the 
New  Englanders  pushed  northward  into  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin,  and  crossed  the  Mississippi  into  Iowa  and 
Minnesota.  All  of  these  states  in  turn  had  a  part  in 
the  settlement  of  the  great  prairie  region  of  Nebraska, 
Kansas,  and  the  Dakotas.  The  northern  movement, 
like  the  southern,  crossed  the  continent,  leaving  its 
trace  in  the  names  of  places  planted  in  its  course. 

Westward  Extension  of  Northern  and  Southern 
Institutions.  These  two  movements,  from  the  South 
and  from  the  North,  were  essentially  the  same  in  char- 
acter.    They  were  genuine  expansions  of  society.     But 


28    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

the  institutions  of  these  two  expanding  societies  differed 
greatly,  and  these  differences  reappeared  in  the  new 
states.  Especially  is  this  true  with  respect  to  the  forms 
of  local  government.  In  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  the 
other  southwestern  states  we  find  the  county  form ;  in 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  the  township 
form  prevails. 

SUMMARY 

The  system  of  local  government  planted  in  Virginia  influ- 
enced the  other  southern  colonies,  which  generally  developed 
the  county  form.  The  Massachusetts  system  influenced 
the  other  northern  colonies,  so  that  they  developed  the 
township  form. 

As  population  increased,  people  from  the  old  South  moved 
westward  and  settled  the  new  southern  states ;  and  in  like 
manner  people  from  the  old  North  settled  the  new  northern 
states.  These  two  movements  continued  until  the  continent 
had  been  crossed. 

The  new  states  settled  from  the  South  developed  the 
county  form  of  local  government ;  the  new  states  settled  from 
the  North  generally  developed  the  township  form. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   COUNTY   SYSTEM    IN    THE   WEST 

An  Oregon  County.  The  way  in  which  the  emi- 
grating people  carried  their  institutions  with  them  is 
well  illustrated  in  the  case  of  Oregon.  Her  pioneers 
were  mainly  from  the  southwestern  states.  They  came 
from  Missouri,  and  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  At 
home  they  were  used  to  some  form  of  the  Virginia 
county  government.  So  when  they  established  them- 
selves in  the  Willamette  Valley  they  set  up  that  system 
there,  three  thousand  miles  from  the  place  of  its  birth. 

These  points  can  be  made  clear  by  an  example.  The 
first  term  of  the  commissioners'  court  for  Lane  County 
began  September  6,  1852,  but  no  work  was  done  till  the 
8th.  There  were  two  commissioners  at  first,  and  after- 
wards three.  Their  first  act  was  to  determine  which  of 
them  should  have  the  three  years  and  which  the  two 
years  term,  and  apparently  they  drew  lots  for  this 
purpose. 

Next  they  "  Ordered,  .  .  .  that  all  courts  of  record  in 
and  for  said  county  be  held  at  Eugene  City  in  said 
county."  Now  the  regular  business  of  the  court  began. 
A  petition  of  twelve  householders  was  received,  "pray- 
ing for  the  location  of  a  county  road"  from  a  certain 
place  to  a  certain  place.  "  Court  ordered  a  road  accord- 
ing to  the  prayer  of  said  petition,  and  appointed  the 
following  named  persons  commissioners  to  locate  said 
road."     **  Ordered  a  license  to  be  granted  to to 


30    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

keep  a  grocery  in  Lane  County  for  one  year."  "Or- 
dered the  issuing  of  orders  on  the  treasury  for  the 
payment  of  the  court  and  its  officers."  Attested  by 
,  Clerk. 

At  the  next  session  "viewers"  were  appointed  to 
inspect  a  road  which  had  been  petitioned  for ;  election 
precincts  were  established;  justices  of  the  peace  were 
appointed,  and  their  precincts  determined.  The  court 
"  laid  off  the  township  in  the  Forks  of  the  Willamette 
into  three  road  districts."  They  were  numbered  i,  2, 
and  3,  and  a  road  supervisor  was  appointed  for  each.  A 
grand  jury  of  twenty-three  men  was  appointed  for  the 
next  term  of  the  district  court,  and  two  petit  juries  of 
twelve  men  were  named  for  the  same  occasion.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  the  grand  jury  had  the  duty  of  pre- 
senting persons  for  trial,  and  the  other  jury  tried  them 
and  brought  in  verdicts  of  "guilty"  or  "not  guilty." 

We  will  simply  indicate  some  of  the  kinds  of  business 
that  came  before  this  court  at  its  sessions  during  the 
next  eight  or  ten  years.  In  number  of  pages  the  road 
business  is  far  in  the  lead.  At  every  session  numerous 
petitions  were  received  for  making  new  roads  or  changing 
old  ones  ;  viewers  were  appointed,  and  the  reports  of  those 
previously  appointed  were  received.  Ferries  required 
much  attention.  Licenses  were  granted  to  individuals 
to  run  ferries  at  various  points  on  the  Willamette. 
Sometimes  the  petition  of  one  man  was  met  by  a  pro- 
test from  a  ferryman  whose  business  was  threatened  by 
the  new  venture,  and  the  court  had  to  decide  between 
the  two.  Ferry  tolls  were  adopted ;  so  much  for  a 
team  and  wagon,  so  much  for  a  horse,  a  cow,  a  pig,  a 
sheep,  etc. 

The  court  created  the  first  school  districts ;  it  ap- 
pointed  the    county   superintendent,   at   least   in   the 


THE   COUNTY   SYSTEM   IN   THE   WEST  31 

numerous  cases  of  vacancy,  and  voted  money  for  the 
support  of  common  schools.  It  levied  all  taxes ;  it 
required  bonds  of  the  treasurer  and  other  officers ;  it 
took  care  of  the  property  of  widows  and  orphans.  It 
provided  asylums  for  the  insane  and  support  for  the  pau* 
pers  of  the  county,  received  grants  of  land  for  a  towf 
site,  ordered  the  town  platted,  sold  lots,  laid  out  a  court 
house  square,  and  built  a  court  house. 

The  principal  officer  of  the  court  was  the  county 
clerk,  who  kept  its  records  and  issued  all  papers  re- 
quired, by  its  orders.  He  also  recorded  all  deeds,  mort- 
gages, and  other  instruments. 

Examination  of  the  court  records  convinces  one  that 
the  actual  government  of  the  county  at  this  early  time 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  three  men  who  composed  the 
commissioners'  court. 

The  Present  County  Government  in  Oregon.^  Com- 
missioners'  Court.  The  system  is  nearly  the  same  now 
as  it  was  in  the  earlier  years  referred  to.  There  is  first 
the  commissioners'  court,  composed  of  two  commis- 
sioners, chosen  at  large  by  the  voters  of  the  county,  and 
the  county  judge  chosen  in  the  same  way.  This  court 
has  all  the  legislative  power  exercised  by  the  county, 
a  power  greater  in  amount  than  that  exercised  by  the 
county  boards  in  states  like  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and 
Nebraska,  because  there  are  no  townships  in  Oregon. 

The  County  Judge.  Besides  being  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  commissioners'  court  when  in  session,  the 
county  judge  holds  separate  judicial  sessions.  His  busi- 
ness is  of  two  kinds,  ordinary  civil  business  and  pro- 
bate business. 

^  This  description  also  has  reference  to  Lane  County.  There 
are  slight  local  differences,  owing  to  differences  in  population, 
.etc. 


32    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

As  probate  judge  he  has  special  charge  of  the  estates 
of  deceased  persons,  proving  wills,  appointing  administra- 
tors in  cases  where  persons  dying  leave  no  will,  settling 
the  claims  of  creditors,  and  caring  for  the  interests  of 
widows  and  orphans. 

In  civil  matters  the  county  judge  has  power  to  try 
cases  involving  not  more  than  ;^500.  Very  few  cases  of 
any  importance  come  before  him,  for  parties  to  a  suit 
prefer  to  wait  for  the  session  of  the  circuit  court,  to 
which  the  case  is  always  likely  to  be  taken  on  appeal  if 
first  brought  before  the  county  court.  Much  expense 
may  be  saved  by  bringing  the  case  into  the  circuit 
court  at  once.  However,  many  minor  cases  are  finally 
disposed  of  by  the  county  court,  greatly  to  the  con- 
venience of  the  parties  concerned.  The  county  judge 
has  no  jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases,  but  may  issue 
warrants  for  the  arrest  of  suspected  persons  and 
bind  them  over  to  appear  before  the  grand  jury. 
Aside  from  these  he  has  various  other  duties,  in  part 
as  the  representative  of  the  commissioners'  court  and 
in  part  as  the  chief  permanent  judicial  officer  of  the 
county. 

The  Sheriff  is  the  highest  police  officer  and  sees  that 
the  "majesty  of  the  law"  is  upheld  throughout  the 
county.  He  commands  men  to  keep  the  peace,  arrests 
disturbers  and  criminals,  or  suspected  persons,  takes 
care  of  prisoners,  and  executes  the  sentence  of  the  court 
upon  convicts.  He  must  put  down  riots,  and  has  the 
power  to  call  upon  all  able-bodied  men  of  the  county 
(except  members  of  the  militia)  for  that  purpose.  If 
this  force  is  insufficient  he  may  call  upon  the  governor 
of  the  state  for  military  aid. 

The  sheriff  also  executes  the  decrees  of  the  county 
and  circuit  courts  respecting  attachments  for  debt,  sale 


THE    COUNTY    SYSTEM    IN   THE   WEST  33 

of  the  property  of  bankrupts,  etc.  He  is  also  the  col- 
lector of  taxes.^ 

The  County  Treasurer  receives  the  moneys  belonging 
to  the  county  and  cares  for  them,  paying  claims  against 
the  county  on  warrants  issued  by  the  county  clerk.  He 
has  no  part  in  the  collection  of  taxes,  as  he  has  in  most 
of  the  states. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  when  a  tax  is  to  be  raised 
is  to  get  a  complete  list  of  the  property  upon  which  it 
is  to  be  levied,  with  the  value  of  each  item.  This  list 
is  made  by  the  county  assessor.  Since  he  cannot  visit 
all  the  property  owners  of  the  county  within  the  time 
he  has  to  make  his  return,  he  appoints  a  deputy  for  each 
election  precinct,  to  do  this  part  of  the  work.  The  asses- 
sor then  makes  up  his  completed  list  from  the  separate 
returns. 

The  School  Superintendent.  One  of  the  most  impor* 
tant  of  the  county  officers  is  the  school  superintendent, 
who  has  general  oversight  of  the  common  schools.  He 
has  the  duty  of  examining  and  issuing  certificates  to 
teachers,  visiting  the  schools  and  making  suggestions 
for  their  improvement,  advising  directors  and  teachers 
in  school  matters,  issuing  completion  certificates  to  com- 
mon school  graduates,  etc. 

The  Coroner.  The  office  of  coroner,  once  of  very 
considerable  importance  in  England,  has  never  been  of 
much  consequence  in  any  American  state.  In  Oregon 
the  coroner  has  the  customary  duty  of  holding  inquests 
over  the  bodies  of  those  dying  under  suspicious  circum- 
stances, and  of  serving  the  process  of  the  court  in  cases 
in  which  the  sheriff  has  a  personal  interest. 

1  This  is  not  true  in  other  states  at  present,  but  in  colonial  Vir- 
ginia the  sheriff  collected  the  tobacco  paid  in  as  taxes,  and  the 
English  sheriff  had  been  the  king's  collector  many  centuries  before 
the  colonists  came  to  America. 


34    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE  AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

The  County  Surveyor's  duties  are  to  establish  lines 
and  corners,  to  supervise  the  construction  of  the  more 
important  bridges,  to  survey  roads  laid  out  by  the 
county,  etc.  In  the  growing  interest  in  good  roads  the 
county  surveyor  bids  fair  to  become  an  officer  of  great 
importance  to  the  county. 

The  County  Clerk.  Last,  but  to  the  historian  by  no 
means  the  least,  of  the  county  officers  is  the  county 
clerk.  He  keeps  in  his  vaults  the  accumulated  records 
of  the  county,  so  that  his  office  is  the  place  to  study 
county  history.  He  really  has  the  duties  of  several 
officers,  being  the  auditor  of  accounts,  recorder  of  deeds 
and  other  instruments,  and  clerk  of  the  commissioners' 
court,  the  county  court,  and  the  circuit  court.  In  fact, 
nearly  all  the  business  of  the  county  leaves  some  trace 
in  the  extensive  records  of  the  county  clerk's  office. 

Three  Classes  of  Work.  In  the  above  we  have  indi- 
cated three  distinct  classes  of  work  done  by  county 
officers.  The  first  class  is  legislative,  performed  by 
the  commissioners'  court ;  the  second  is  judicial ;  and 
the  third  is  executive  or  administrative.  There  is  some 
mingling  of  these  duties,  but  on  the  whole  such  a  classi- 
fication will  hold.  We  shall  see  a  similar  division  of 
duties  in  Wisconsin,  where  the  county  board  legislates, 
the  county  judge  judges,  and  the  other  county  officers 
execute  or  administer.  A  little  reflection  will  show  that 
this  division  runs  through  all  governmental  forms. 


SUMMARY 

The  county  system  of  local  government,  originating  in  Vir- 
ginia, was  carried  to  Oregon  by  the  pioneers,  who  were  largely 
from  the  southwestern  states  settled  from  Virginia  and  the 
old  South.     Lane  County,  Oregon,   was  in  the   early  time 


THE   COUNTY   SYSTEM    IN   THE   WEST  35 

governed  by  a  commissioners'  court,  which  was  very  much 
like  the  county  court  in  Virginia,  so  far  as  its  powers  were 
concerned.  Its  members,  however,  were  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple. Other  county  officers  were  in  general  appointed  by  the 
commissioners'  court. 

At  present  the  commissioners'  court  still  legislates  for  the 
county,  but  the  county  judge  holds  separate  judicial  sessions. 
The  people  also  elect  nearly  all  of  the  administrative  or 
executive  officers  of  the  county. 

There  are  thus  three  kinds  of  work  done  in  the  county  gov- 
ernment, legislative,  judicial,  and  executive. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE    TOWNSHIP    SYSTEM    IN    THE    WEST 

A  Wisconsin  ^  Township.  As  the  Virginia  county 
appeared  on  the  Pacific  Coast  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  so  the  Massachusetts  township  was  found  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley  about  the  same  time.  The  early 
settlement  of  Wisconsin  was  made  by  people  from  New 
England  and  states  having  a  New  England  parentage. 
Its  local  institutions  were  therefore  of  the  Massachu- 
setts type.  In  fact,  with  very  slight  changes,  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  township  system  and  the 
town  meeting  would  apply  as  well  to  Massachusetts  as 
to  Wisconsin.  It  would  also  apply  to  the  other  states 
having  township  government.  Let  us  see  from  an 
actual  example  what  the  Wisconsin  township  was. 

In  Grant  County,  which  borders  on  the  Mississippi 
and  Wisconsin  rivers,  there  is  a  township  known  as 
Castle  Rock.  Its  territory  is  a  regular  surveyor's  town- 
ships six  miles  square,  and  there  is  no  town  whatever  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term.  It  is  simply  an  area  in 
the  hill  country  occupied  by  a  farming  population.  The 
farms  are  small,  ranging  from  forty  to  about  five  hun- 
dred acres.  There  are  two  river  valleys,  each  about  a 
mile  wide,  extending  through  the  town  from  south  to 
north,  but  the  rest  of  the  country  is  rough  and  difficult 
of  access.  A  towering  mass  of  rock  about  sixty  feet 
high  gives  rise  to  the  name  Castle  Rock. 

1  For  accounts  of  the  township  system  in  Illinois,  see  Bryce,  i. 
601-605  ;  and  for  Michigan,  605,  606. 


THE   TOWNSHIP   SYSTEM    IN   THE   WEST       37 

The  town  is  divided  into  school  districts,  each  of 
which  has  its  school,  and  there  are  also  road  districts, 
usually  ten  or  twelve  in  number.  These  features  are 
partially  shown  on  the  accompanying  map. 


T'lOwn  ;  0  f     W  i  ng  V  ill  e 

,  i  )  ^1      School:  House  In 

*  :  I         '       L  Wingville 

Map  of  Castle  Rock,  showing  Sections,  School  Districts,  and  Specimen 
Road  District. 


Each  school  district  has  its  meeting  in  July,  at  which 
the  officers  for  the  year  are  chosen,  a  tax  is  levied  for  the 
support  of  the  school  or  for  building  purposes,  and  the 


38    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

length  of  term  agreed  upon.  Sometimes  the  teacher  is 
selected  in  these  meetings,  and  it  is  usually  determined 
whether  to  employ  a  man  or  a  woman  as  teacher.  The 
general  affairs  of  the  district  are  always  discussed.^ 

The  Town  Meeting.  The  annual  town  meeting  is 
held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April.  The  place  is  the 
"Rock  School  House,"  standing  near  the  centre  of  the 
town.  Roads  are  always  bad  at  that  season  of  the  year, 
just  at  the  breaking  up  of  winter,  and  there  is  much 
difficulty  in  reaching  the  place.  Yet  almost  every  voter 
within  six  miles  square  is  in  attendance.  It  is  safe  to 
say  the  spring  meeting  is  fully  as  well  attended  as  the 
general  election  for  the  choice  of  state  and  county 
officers,  and  even  a  presidential  election  does  not 
usually  bring  out  a  fuller  vote.  Farmers,  their  sons, 
and  their  hired  hands  are  all  there,  and  are  all  active  in 
one  way  or  another.  The  business  of  legislation  in- 
volves much  bargaining,  and  this  is  a  legislature.  One 
end  of  the  town  wants  a  new  bridge  across  Blue  River, 
the  other  wants  votes  for  its  candidate  for  chairman. 
Here  is  a  chance  for  "log  rolling."  ^ 

The  candidates  are  usually  on  the  spot  early  in  the 
day.  They  lie  in  wait  to  greet  the  farmers  as  they  ap- 
proach by  team,  on  foot,  or  on  horseback.  Most  con- 
spicuous, of  course,  are  the  various  candidates  for  the 
office  of  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  who 
is  always  spoken  of  as  chairman  or  town  chairman. 
His  campaign  is  arranged  in  advance.  The  men  seek- 
ing this  office  usually  go  about  the  town  some  days  or 
weeks  before  the  day  of  meeting,  and  "  fix  up  "  the 
tickets  which  their  names  are  to  head. 

The  ticket  is  a  list  of  names  of  those  who  are  candi- 

1  At  the  school  meeting  women  may  vote  as  well  as  men  ;  they 
may  also  hold  school  offices. 

2  This  is  the  term  applied  to  such  "  trading  "  in  politics. 


THE   TOWNSHIP   SYSTEM    IN   THE   WEST       39 

dates  of  this  faction  or  that  faction  of  the  voters.  Some- 
times the  national  party  names  are  used,  the  ticket 
being  headed  Republican  Ticket,  or  Democratic  Ticket. 
More  often  no  name  is  affixed,  but  it  goes  by  the  name 
of  the  would-be  chairman,  as  the  "  Gore  "  ticket  or  the 
**  Sylvester  "  ticket.  The  names  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  the  supposed  importance  of  the  offices,  thus  : 

Board  of  Supervisors  ^ .     .    .    .     H G {Chairman) 

M S 

F E 

Treasurer  2. J S 

Town  Clerk  » N O 

Assessor* I B 

Justices  of  the  Peace  ^ .    .    .    .    H D 

J V 

O J 

Constables' A O 

F S 

J F 

1  The  board  of  supervisors  corresponds  to  the  "  selectmen  "  in 
many  eastern  states.  These  three  men  (and  especially  the  chair-' 
man)  have  general  oversight  of  the  affairs  of  the  town  and  repre- 
sent the  town  in  its  corporate  capacity.  If  the  town  is  sued,  the 
process  is  served  on  the  board. 

2  The  treasurer  collects,  cares  for,  and  pays  out  the  moneys  of 
the  town. 

*  The  clerk  keeps  the  town  records,  and  makes  out  the  tax  roll. 

*  The  assessor  visits  each  resident  property  owner  and  makes 
a  list  of  his  real  and  personal  property,  with  the  value  of  each  item. 
On  this  "  assessor's  list "  the  taxes  for  each  person  are  computed 
by  the  clerk. 

*»  The  justices  of  the  peace  are  petty  judicial  officers.  They  may 
try  civil  suits  of  minor  importance,  and  also  petty  criminal  offenses, 
such  as  "  assault  and  battery."  They  may  also  administer  oaths, 
issue  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  suspected  persons,  bind  men  to 
keep  the  peace,  hold  preliminary  investigations,  perform  the  cere- 
mony of  civil  marriage,  etc. 

*  The  constables  are  the  police  officers  of  the  town.    It  is  their 


40    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Usually  the  tickets  are  written  out  on  narrow  strips 
of  paper,  which  are  handed  about  by  the  candidates  and 
their  supporters.  Voters  may  either  "vote  the  ticket 
straight,"  or  "  scratch  "  it,  as  they  prefer.  When  it  is 
arranged  to  suit  them,  they  are  ready  to  vote. 

The  voter  passes  his  ticket  folded  to  the  chairman, 
who  calls  out  the  name  of  the  person  offering  it,  and 
then  drops  it  through  a  slot  into  the  ballot-box.  The 
name  is  recorded  by  two  clerks.  The  other  members  of 
the  town  board  act  as  judges  of  election.  At  sunset  the 
voting  ceases  and  the  count  begins.^ 

As  the  voting  proceeds,  the  business  also  proceeds. 
The  chairman  is  seated  on  a  high  box  or  stool,  in  order 
that  he  may  be  easily  seen  in  the  dense  crowd,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  able  to  insert  tickets  in  the  ballot-box. 

The  report  of  the  town  treasurer  is  of  greatest  in- 
terest, because  it  shows  how  much  money  was  raised  at 
the  last  meeting  and  how  it  has  been  expended. 

The  tax  levy  is  the  most  important  business.  It  is 
customary  to  divide  it  into  items.  Some  one  moves  that 
the  town  raise  ^150  for  bridges.  The  motion  is  adopted. 
Another  $100  is  set  aside  for  the  care  of  the  town  poor. 
The  sum  of  ^250  is  voted  for  roads.  This  the  property 
owners  are  allowed  to  work  out?  A  motion  to  raise  ^200 
for  town  expenses,  which  means  the  pay  of  the  officers, 
brings  on  a  debate,  but  is  finally  carried.     Several  of 

duty  to  prevent  lawlessness  and  violence,  to  arrest  disturbers  of 
the  peace,  if  found  in  the  act,  or,  in  case  of  suspected  criminals,  on 
a  warrant  issued  by  a  justice  of  the  peace.  They  serve  judicial 
and  other  notices,  and  in  general  are  at  the  service  of  the  justices 
and  the  board  of  supervisors. 

1  Since  the  Australian  ballot  law  has  been  applied  to  towns, 
many  changes  have  been  made  in  the  manner  of  voting. 

2  That  is,  they  are  allowed  to  pay  the  tax  in  work  of  men  or 
teams  instead  of  paying  in  money.  The  rule  is  to  allow  ^1.50  per 
day  for  a  man,  and  the  same  for  a  team. 


THE   TOWNSHIP   SYSTEM   IN   THE   WEST       41 

the  officers,  the  clerk,  treasurer,  and  assessor,  receive 
;^50  each  for  their  services  as  a  matter  of  custom.  The 
remaining  ;^50  goes  to  the  supervisors,  ^20  to  the  chair- 
man, and  ^15  to  each  of  the  other  two.  Justices  and 
constables  are  paid  entirely  in  fees. 

The  business  began  with  the  reading  of  the  reports  of 
officers.  It  ends  with  the  election  of  road  supervisors. 
There  are  no  candidates,  for  no  one  wants  the  office. 
Some  one  names  a  man  for  District  Number  i.  The 
nomination  is  seconded,  the  vote  follows,  and  he  is 
elected  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  process  is  repeated 
until  all  the  districts  are  provided  for.  This  vote  is  not 
by  ballot,  but  by  "majority  of  voices."  It  is  simply 
accident  if  a  man  of  the  proper  qualifications  is  chosen 
in  any  district. 

The  Importance  of  the  Town  Meeting.  This  meet- 
ing of  citizens  has  nevertheless  a  deep  significance.  It 
is  the  one  meeting  of  a  political  nature  in  which  every 
grown  man  of  the  town  takes  a  direct  part,  and  every 
one  feels  on  returning  home  that  he  has  personally 
exercised  some  influence  on  public  affairs.  Moreover, 
what  he  sees  and  hears  there  gives  him  a  better  insight 
into  public  affairs  of  a  larger  nature.  He  is  better  pre- 
pared to  understand  the  county  government  because  of 
his  part  in  the  town  government.  The  affairs  of  the 
state  and  even  of  the  nation  seem  plainer  to  one  who 
has  seen  and  heard  the  doings  of  the  town  meeting. 
It  is  a  great  school  of  practical  politics. 

Relations  with  the  County.  In  Wisconsin,  as  in 
New  York  and  several  other  states,  the  general  affairs 
of  the  county  are  cared  for  by  a  county  board.  This 
body  is  made  up  of  the  chairmen,  or,  as  they  are  called 
in  New  York  where  the  system  originated,  the  super- 


42    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

visors  of  the  several  towns.     The  county  government  is 
therefore  based  directly  on  the  towns. 

The  county  board  is  a  sort  of  legislature.  It  levies 
the  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  county ;  it  undertakes 
pubUc  improvements,  such  as  erecting  county  buildings  ; 
it  has  charge  of  the  county  poor-farm  and  poor-house ; 
and  it  lays  out  the  more  important  highways.  In  short, 
the  county  board  in  Wisconsin  does  many  of  the  things 
which  are  done  by  the  commissioners'  court  in  Oregon. 
It  does  not  do  all,  however,  because  part  are  attended 
to  by  the  town  meeting. 

The  County  Oflacers.  In  Wisconsin,  as  in  Oregon, 
each  county  has  certain  county  officers  chosen  every  two 
years  at  the  general  election  in  November.  They  in- 
clude a  sheriff,  a  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  a  treasurer, 
a  registrar  of  deeds,  a  county  clerk,  a  superintendent  of 
schools,  a  coroner,  and  a  surveyor.  Their  duties  are 
similar  to  those  described  for  the  Oregon  county  offi- 
cers. There  is  also  a  county  judge,  who  attends  to  the 
probate  business,  and  is  chosen  at  the  election  in  April 
for  a  term  of  four  years. 

SUMMARY. 

The  township  system  was  planted  in  the  West  by  the  early 
settlers,  who  came  from  New  England  and  the  other  northern 
states.  All  the  voters,  as  a  rule,  attend  the  annual  town 
meeting  and  take  a  part  in  the  management  of  town  affairs. 
They  also  elect  the  town  officers.  In  this  way  the  common 
people  gain  a  good  deal  of  valuable  political  education. 

In  Wisconsin  the  county  board  is  composed  of  the  chair- 
men of  the  several  town  boards.  All  legislative  work  required 
by  the  county  is  performed  by  this  county  board.  There  is 
also  a  county  judge,  whose  work  is  judicial ;  and  there  are 
several  administrative  or  executive  officers. 


CHAPTER  V 

PRESENT   TENDENCIES    IN    LOCAL   GOVERNMENT 

Tendency  toward  the  Township  Form.  A  very 
interesting  fact  of  recent  American  history  is  the  tend- 
ency, in  many  states  which  began  with  the  county  sys- 
tem, toward  the  township  form  of  local  self-government. 
The  county  system  has  great  advantages  under  such 
conditions  as  existed  in  colonial  Virginia.  It  is  admi- 
rably adapted  to  the  needs  of  a  state  in  which  popula- 
tion is  sparse.  That  was  the  main  reason  for  its  adop- 
tion there.  For  the  same  reason,  and  on  account  of  its 
greater  cheapness,  it  has  been  adopted  by  nearly  all 
the  prairie  states.  But  as  population  increases  there 
appears  a  disposition  to  want  town  government.^  The 
change  has  been  encouraged  by  two  facts,  the  township 
method  of  surveying  public  lands,  and  the  development 
of  the  public  school  system. 

^  Illinois  furnishes  an  instructive  example  of  the  way  in  which 
the  county  form  of  local  government  has  had  to  give  way  to  the 
township  form.  This  State  was  settled  first  from  the  south,  and 
when  the  first  State  Constitution  was  framed  in  1818,  provision  was 
made  for  the  county  system  only.  In  the  Constitution  of  1848 
counties  were  permitted  to  vote,  if  they  chose  to  do  so,  on  the 
question  of  adopting  the  township  system.  By  that  time  a  large 
number  of  New  England  people,  moving  westward  by  way  of  the 
Erie  Canal  and  the  Great  Lakes,  had  settled  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  State.  Therefore,  most  of  the  northern  counties  adopted  the 
township  system.  Since  that  time  many  of  the  counties  at  first 
organized  under  the  county  system  have  changed  to  the  township 
system,  so  that,  practically,  lUinois  now  has  the  township  system. 


44    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Land  Surveys.  The  present  system  of  land  surveys 
was  adopted  in  1785.  By  it  the  whole  country  settled 
since  that  time  has  been  laid  off  into  uniform  blocks  of 
six  miles  square.^  This  was  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
townships  often  granted  by  the  colonial  governments 
in  New  England  to  companies  of  men  who  wished  to 
settle  on  wild  land.  For  this  reason  these  later  tracts 
were  called  townships.  By  way  of  distinction  they  are 
usually  spoken  of  as  congressiofial  townsJiipSy  because 
they  have  been  laid  off  under  the  surveys  ordered  by 
Congress.  It  was  not  unnatural  to  expect  that  local 
governments  would  grow  up  in  these  township  areas, 
and  this  has  actually  been  the  case  in  most  of  the  north- 
ern states.^  In  those  which  started  with  the  county 
system  the  law  sometimes  provides  that  the  people 
of  any  congressional  township  may  form  a  civil  toivn- 
ship.  In  North  Dakota,  while  the  county  as  a  whole 
has  the  commissioner  system,  some  of  the  squares  of 
which  it  is  made  up  are  independent  of  the  commis- 
sioners as  far  as  local  matters  are  concerned.  In  these 
the  townships  are  said  to  be  "  organized,"  which  means 
that  the  people  have  adopted  the  township  government. 
The  number  of  these  organized  townships  is  constantly 
increasing. 

1  Texas,  secured  by  annexation  after  being  partly  settled  under  a 
different  system  of  surveying,  is  an  exception  to  this  statement. 
Titles  to  property  are  not  disturbed,  as  a  rule,  by  annexation  or  con- 
quest. 

2  Of  course  there  are  many  variations  from  the  regular  surveyor's 
township  area  in  the  civil  townships  of  the  northern  states,  and 
these  variations  constantly  tend  to  increase;  but  the  surveyor's 
township  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  the  natural  area  for  the 
civil  township,  and  in  a  very  large  proportion  of  cases,  especially  in 
the  newer  states,  the  civil  townships  are  actually  contained  in  the 
surveyor'^  squares. 


TENDENCIES    IN   LOCAL   GOVERNMENT         45 

Public  School  Reservations.  In  the  townships 
granted  by  the  colonial  governments  of  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  make  reservations.  That  is  to  say,  these 
tracts  were  granted  to  a  company  of  proprietors  for 
their  own  benefit,  but  on  the  condition  that  certain 
shares  of  the  land  be  set  aside  by  them  for  public  uses. 
The  entire  grant  was  usually  cut  up  into  sixty-three  ': 
shares,  and  it  was  common  to  reserve  three  shares. 
One  of  these  was  "  for  the  first  settled  minister,"  and 
another  for  the  ministry,  which  means  that  whoever 
might  be  the  minister  of  the  town  church,  he  should 
always  have  the  use  of  this  land.  But  there  was  also 
one  share  for  "  the  school  or  schools.**  This  custom  be- 
gan at  least  as  early  as  1 704,  and  was  regularly  followed 
from  that  time.  Now  when,  in  1787,  the  Continental 
Congress  sold  several  million  acres  of  land  in  Ohio 
to  companies  of  New  Englanders  who  wished  to  settle 
there,  it  agreed  to  set  aside  one  section  out  of  the  thirty- 
six  making  up  each  township,  to  be  reserved  for  the 
use  of  schools  forever.  The  famous  document  called  the 
*'  Ordinance  of  1 787,"  which  was  drawn  up  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  government  in  the  Ohio  country,  declares 
that  "  religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  being  necessary 
to  good  government,  schools  and  the  means  of  education 
shall  forever  be  encouraged."  After  that,  whenever 
Congress  admitted  a  new  state  into  the  Union,  it  gave 
to  it  one  section  in  every  township  of  land,  to  be  held 
in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  common  schools  in  that 
state.  Later  it  became  customary  to  reserve  two  sec- 
tions in  each  township.^ 

These  lands  have  usually  been  sold  and  the  money 

^  Oregon,  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1859,  was  the  first  state  that 
received  two  sections. 


46    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

invested  in  a  permanent  fund.  Of  this  the  interest  is 
divided  among  the  schools  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  pupils.  Other  moneys  have  been  added  to  the  school 
fund  in  many  states,  making  it  often  a  very  large  sum. 
It  is  known  as  the  state  school  fund.  Such  funds  have 
helped  greatly  in  developing  the  school  systems  of  new 
states,  and  there  has  been  a  remarkable  growth. 

The  Common  Schools.  In  general  there  is  now  a 
school  within  reach  of  every  home  in  the  land.  These 
schools  belong  to  the  people  of  the  neighborhood, 
although  some  part  of  their  support  comes  from  the 
state  fund.  The  people  are  expected  to  tax  themselves 
for  any  needed  sums ;  they  must  keep  up  the  building 
and  provide  appliances  ;  and  some  sort  of  organization 
is  necessary  for  this  work. 

In  the  management  of  school  matters  the  principle 
of  self-government  is  applied.  Commonly  the  towns  or 
counties  are  divided  into  districts  of  such  a  size  that  a 
central  school  will  accommodate  all  the  children.  But 
in  a  few  states  the  schools  are  grouped  into  school  town* 
ships.  When  that  is  done,  either  the  old  civil  township 
or  the  congressional  township  is  made  the  basis.  But 
whether  there  are  school  districts  or  school  townships, 
all  voters  may  attend  and  take  part  in  the  school  meet- 
ing. This  affords  many  of  the  advantages  of  the  town 
meeting  in  the  way  of  political  education. 

A  most  interesting  effect  of  such  local  gatherings  is 
the  tendency  they  have  to  become  more  than  mere 
school  meetings.  In  North  Dakota,  for  example,  the 
congressional  townships  are  school  townships.  This 
gives  the  people  an  annual  meeting.  As  a  result,  they 
come  to  want  self-government  in  other  matters.  Soon 
they  petition  to  be  allowed  a  town  government,  and 
having  this  they  hold  their  spring  meeting,  elect  officers, 
and  tax  themselves  for  local  purposes. 


TENDENCIES   IN  LOCAL   GOVERNMENT         47 

Self-Government  on  the  Increase.  Americans  have 
a  strong  disposition  toward  self-government.  Wherever 
self-government  seems  to  suit  the  conditions  best,  the 
people  are  constantly  finding  ways  to  do  more  of  the 
work  of  governing  directly,  instead  of  committing  it  to 
a  few  of  their  number  as  representatives.  Thus  in  Vir- 
ginia, where  in  colonial  times  the  people  hardly  had  any 
voice  in  local  affairs,  they  now  have  at  least  three  divi- 
sions in  each  county,  in  which  they  choose,  every  two 
years,  '*a  supervisor,  a  constable,  an  overseer  of  the 
poor,  and  three  justices  of  the  peace."  ^  These  divi- 
sions are  further  subdivided  into  school  districts. 

In  Oregon,  also,  the  government,  in  the  fifties,  was  in 
the  hands  of  three  commissioners,  who  appointed  con- 
stables, justices  of  the  peace,  and  road  supervisors.  At 
present  there  are  fifty  precincts  in  Lane  County,  each 
of  which  elects  a  constable,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
one  or  more  road  supervisors.  The  county  is  also 
divided  into  school  districts  which  have  self-government. 


SUMMARY 

At  present  there  is  a  tendency,  especially  in  the  newer 
states  which  began  with  the  county  system,  to  change  to  the 
township  system  of  local  government.  This  is  due  to  the 
strong  desire  of  Americans  to  take  a  personal  part  in  political 
affairs. 

The  change  to  the  township  form  is  made  easier  by  two 
things :  (a)  by  the  method  of  surveying  government  lands,  in 
"townships"  six  miles  square,  which  are  convenient  areas 
for  political  townships ;  (l?)  by  the  development  of  the  com- 
mon school  system,  which  gives  the  people  of  districts  or 
school  townships  a  democratic  meeting. 

*  Howard,  Local  Constitutional  History^  page  232. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   MANAGEMENT   OF   SCHOOLS   AND   ROADS* 

The  Necessity  of  a  Good  Common  School  System. 
All  Americans  understand  that  in  a  government  like  our  own 
general  education  is  of  the  first  importance.  Since  all  citizens 
have  a  part  in  the  government,  the  character  of  the  people 
necessarily  determines  the  character  of  the  government.  With 
a  highly  intelligent  and  moral  body  of  citizens,  the  govern- 
ment, in  all  its  branches,  will  be  well  managed.  Laws  will 
be  wisely  framed  and  carefully  executed ;  life  and  property 
will  be  secure ;  the  rights  of  private  citizens  in  all  respects 
will  be  faithfully  guarded,  and  the  money  paid  by  the  people 
in  the  form  of  taxes  will  be  honestly  and  wisely  used. 

Under  such  conditions  only  can  the  highest  prosperity  of 
the  people  be  attained,  and  to  secure  these  conditions  we 
have  established  the  system  of  free  public  schools.  It  is 
right  that  all  should  pay  taxes  for  their  support.  But  the 
people  have  a  right  to  demand  that  the  schools  maintained 
by  their  money  be  as  good  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them. 
This  has  not  always  been  the  case.  Often  the  schools  of 
entire  states  have  been  grossly  mismanaged.  Much  depends 
on  the  plan  under  which  they  are  carried  on.  The  most 
common  way,  as  we  have  seen,  has  been  to  divide  the  towns 
or  the  counties  into  districts,  each  of  which  has  its  school, 
managed  by  a  -local  board. 

Origin  of  the  School  District.     As  early  as  1647  the 

1  This  chapter  deals  more  fully  with  two  important  features  of 
local  government,  but  since  it  is  not  essential  to  the  general  under- 
standing of  the  subject,  it  may  be  studied  or  not,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  teacher. 


MANAGEMENT   OF    SCHOOLS   AND    ROADS      49 

towns  in  Massachusetts  were  required  to  maintain  schools. 
Let  us  see  how  this  was  done  in  a  particular  case.  In  a  cer- 
tain town  the  control  of  school  matters  was  at  first  in  the 
hands  of  the  selectmen.  There  were  no  districts,  and  a 
single  school  served  for  the  whole  town.  After  a  while  dis- 
satisfaction arose  on  account  of  the  distance  some  had  to  go 
to  reach  it,  and  to  equalize  matters  the  school  was  kept  at 
four  different  places  during  the  year.  Since  the  term  was 
twelve  months,  this  gave  to  each  quarter  of  the  town  a  three- 
months  term.  Persons  from  all  parts  of  the  town  were  equally- 
entitled  to  attend,  no  matter  in  what  quarter  the  school 
happened  to  be.  But  naturally  enough  people  soon  thought 
it  impossible  to  attend  when  it  was  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. So  the  school  practically  became  four  schools,  each 
of  which  accommodated  a  particular  section  of  the  township. 
When  there  came  to  be  a  demand  for  a  longer  term  than 
three  months,  the  different  sections  had  different  teachers. 
Then  they  built  a  schoolhouse  in  each  quarter.  At  last  a 
wholly  distinct  organization  arose  for  the  management  of  the 
schools.  The  selectmen  of  the  town  were  no  longer  in  con- 
trol, but  in  their  place  was  a  board  of  directors  chosen  in 
each  division  of  the  town.  This  case  illustrates  the  way  in 
which  the  independent  school  district  originated. 

Defects  of  the  Independent  District  System.  About 
the  year  1830  a  great  educational  movement  began.  The 
common  schools  had  become  very  defective,  lifeless,  and  un- 
profitable. Great  reformers  arose,  like  Horace  Mann,  who 
insisted  that  something  must  be  done.  First,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  find  out  what  was  wrong.  When  the  schools  were 
examined  with  that  point  in  view,  one  of  the  weak  spots  in 
the  system  was  found  to  be  in  the  independent  district. 

Many  reasons  led  to  this  conclusion.  First,  the  school 
officers  were  chosen  from  too  small  an  area.  There  are 
pretty  sure  to  be  some  able,  careful,  public-spirited  men  in  a 
whole  township  ;  but  it  may  well  happen  that  in  a  small  dis- 
trict there  are  too  few  of  that  class  to  fill  the  places  on  the 
board.     Secondly,  the  smallness  of  the  district  belittles  the 


50    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

importance  of  the  office.  A  town  officer  who  cares  for  large 
interests  is  looked  up  to  with  a  good  deal  of  respect ;  but  a 
school  director  receives  little  or  no  honor.  A  third  and  more 
important  point  is  that  the  independent  schools  are  apart  by 
themselves,  and  have  little  connection  with  the  educational 
world.  They  therefore  get  into  ruts,  and  lose  all  spirit  and 
enterprise.  The  semi-annual  visit  of  the  county  superin- 
tendent can  do  little  to  arouse  a  whole  school  community. 
The  district  gets  into  the  habit  of  voting  just  money  enough 
to  pay  for  running  the  school  on  the  cheapest  possible  basis 
for  the  shortest  time  allowed  by  the  law,  and  the  children  are 
the  sufferers.  Then,  too,  when  districts  are  once  formed,  it  is 
hard  to  change  them.  Population  often  decreases,  leaving  the 
district  with  an  insufficient  number  of  pupils  to  make  a  live 
school,  and  in  like  proportion  the  means  of  support  falls  off. 
There  are  many  such  dying  schools  all  over  the  country. 

The  Township  System  of  School  Management.  As 
a  partial  remedy  the  educational  reformers  proposed  that 
the  townships  be  made  the  unit  in  school  matters,  as  they 
once  were.  It  was  thought  that  such  a  change  would  help 
the  schools  in  several  ways.  It  would  place  all  the  schools 
of  the  township  under  a  single  board,  selected  from  the  whole 
town.  This  would  give  uniformity,  unity,  and  efficiency  to  the 
management.  The  schools  of  the  township  could  be  so  lo- 
cated that  each  would  have  a  sufficient  number  of  pupils,  and 
not  too  many.  All  would  of  course  have  an  equal  part  of  the 
town  fund  for  schools.  Moreover,  it  would  make  possible  more 
perfect  supervision.  The  county  superintendent  cannot  pos- 
sibly visit  the  schools  often  enough  to  greatly  affect  their 
work.  His  territory  is  too  large  for  effective  supervision. 
Some  leading  teacher,  or  a  special  officer  employed  for  that 
purpose,  could  be  made  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  the 
town.  This  would  make  the  schools  better  acquainted  with 
one  another  and  give  to  each  the  benefit  of  new  ideas  arising 
in  any  of  them.  Finally,  there  would  most  likely  grow  up 
in  each  township  one  school  of  higher  grade  than  the  rest. 
Older  children  could  be  taught  here,  leaving  the  time  and 


MANAGEMENT   OF   SCHOOLS   AND   ROADS      51 

energy  of  the  other  teachers  to  be  devoted  to  the  younger 
classes.  This  advanced  school  would  finally  become  a  real 
high  school,  with  perhaps  a  principal  and  several  assistant 
teachers.  There  would  now  be  at  least  one  person  of  higher 
culture  and  training  in  each  town,  whose  presence  would  be 
an  inspiration  to  higher  effort  all  along  the  line.  Then,  too, 
a  library  of  good  books  would  gradually  be  collected  at  the 
high  school,  which  in  itself  would  be  an  important  means  of 
mental  development. 

Progress  of  the  Township  Idea.  These  were  some  of 
the  results  which  educational  enthusiasts  hoped  might  follow 
such  a  change  of  system.  Their  ideas  made  way  very  slowly, 
for  the  habits  of  the  people  were  against  them.  Little  by 
little  the  change  was  made  in  a  few  states,  and  the  movement 
now  is  well  under  way.  Wherever  the  township  system  has 
gone  into  effect,  it  is  doing  what  was  expected  of  it.  The 
idea  is  now  in  the  air,  and  we  may  look  to  see  it  make  great 
progress  in  the  course  of  the  next  few  years. 

Those  states  which  have  no  townships  to  serve  as  the  basis 
of  the  system  are  making  provision  for  joint  or  union  dis- 
tricts.'^ The  whole  point  is  to  enlarge  the  unit  for  school 
management. 

The  Importance  of  Good  Roads.  Lord  Bacon  makes 
"  easy  transportation  from  place  to  place  "  one  of  the  three 

1  In  several  states  there  has  recently  been  a  strong  movement 
for  the  consolidation  of  the  small  districts  into  larger  ones.  To 
make  this  feasible  in  country  places  it  has  been  proposed  to  have 
the  district  furnish  vehicles  and  teams  for  transporting  all  the  chil- 
dren to  the  central  school.  This  plan  has  been  tried  in  some  places 
with  excellent  results.  It  has  been  found  that  the  expense  of 
schooling  the  children  under  the  new  system  is  much  less  than 
under  the  old,  because  fewer  teachers  are  needed  and  there  is  a 
great  saving  in  buildings,  apparatus,  heating,  etc.  In  addition, 
the  schools  are  very  much  better  under  the  new  system,  because 
[a)  better  teachers  are  usually  employed,  (6)  there  is  a  better 
chance  for  effective  supervision,  and  (c)  there  is  the  stimulus  of 
numbers  and  of  the  rivalry  of  several  departments  working  side 
by  side. 


52     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

things  "that  make  a  nation  great  and  prosperous."  Of  all 
means  of  communication  the  most  common  by  all  odds  are 
the  country  roads.  These,  too,  are  the  special  care  of  the 
local  governments  we  have  been  studying.  If  the  country 
roads  are  good,  that  is,  if  they  are  dry,  hard,  smooth,  and 
level,  communication  is  easy,  transportation  is  cheap,  and  a 
great  benefit  accrues  to  the  community.  If  they  are  poor, 
that  is,  if  they  are  wet,  soft,  uneven,  and  hilly,  communication 
is  difficult  and  transportation  enormously  expensive. 

It  is  said  that  on  the  scientifically  built  roads  of  France, 
Germany,  and  Great  Britain,  a  single  horse  can  draw  a  load 
of  three  or  four  tons  as  easily  as  a  pair  of  horses  can  draw 
one  ton  on  the  dirt  roads  of  America.  We  rarely  stop  to 
consider  such  comparisons.  We  have  come  to  realize  the 
importance  of  good  railway  connections,  and  cheap  freight 
rates  between  the  local  trading  point  and  the  seaport  where 
our  products  are  marketed ;  but  the  cost  of  hauling  from  the 
farm  to  the  railway  is  not  taken  into  account. 

The  first  condition  of  improvement  in  this  matter,  as  in 
every  other,  is  a  favorable  public  sentiment.  When  the  peo- 
ple really  want  good  roads  they  can  have  them.  But  they 
are  not  likely  to  want  a  thing  whose  benefits  they  do  not 
understand.  For  this  reason  there  are  now  organizations 
which  make  it  their  business  to  try  to  educate  the  people  on 
the  subject  of  roads.  They  hold  Good  Roads  Conventions, 
send  out  pamphlet  literature,  and  sustain  newspapers  and 
magazines  devoted  to  the  cause.  The  result  has  been  numer- 
ous measures  before  recent  legislatures  and  some  helpful 
legislation. 

The  Problem  of  Roads.  The  problem  of  roads  involves 
three  things.  Or,  rather,  we  may  say  that  the  problem  as  a 
whole  divides  itself  into  three  problems.  These  are  {a)  the 
problem  of  location ;  (p)  the  problem  of  construction ;  {c)  the 
problem  of  repair. 

In  location  are  involved  all  questions  relating  to  the  road- 
way. Grades,  drainage,  liability  to  floods  and  gullying, 
accessibility  of  construction  materials ;  these  are  some  of  the 


MANAGEMENT   OF   SCHOOLS   AND   ROADS      53 

things  to  be  considered  in  determining  where  a  proposed 
road  is  to  be  laid. 

The  question  of  proper  grades  is  exceedingly  important. 
Every  one  knows  what  a  single  steep  grade,  or  hard  hill,  in  a 
stretch  of  road  means.  One  ton  with  such  a  hill  becomes  a 
full  load,  when  otherwise  two  tons  could  be  easily  drawn.  So 
the  single  hill  adds  fifty  or  one  hundred  per  cent,  to  the  cost 
of  transporting  heavy  products  to  market.  Steep  grades 
should  therefore  be  avoided,  even  if  the  distance  is  greater 
and  right-of-way  more  expensive.  So  should  low,  undrainable 
spots  be  avoided,  or  stretches  where  the  soil  will  not  support 
a  firm  road-bed.  If  the  road  is  properly  located,  it  can  be 
made  a  good  road ;  but  if  not,  it  can  never  become  a  good 
road.     Most  roads  are  spoiled  in  the  locating. 

Skill  required  to  Locate  Eoads.  When  a  railway 
company  wants  a  new  road  located,  it  sends  out  skilled  engi- 
neers to  find  a  good  route.  They  consider  all  the  available 
courses,  accurately  determine  the  grades,  map  the  line  they 
find  best,  and  make  their  report.  Then  the  company  sends  a 
man  to  purchase  the  right-of-way  for  the  road  from  those 
whose  land  is  crossed  by  the  line  surveyed.  If  an  owner 
refuses  to  accept  a  fair  offer  from  the  company,  the  land  may 
be  taken  through  the  right  of  eminent  domain} 

In  locating  highways  a  very  different  programme  is  com- 
monly followed.  The  town  board,  or  a  committee  appointed 
by  the  county  board,  comes  into  the  neighborhood  and  tries 
to  find  out  first  of  all  where  the  property  owners  are  willing 
to  have  a  road  laid.  The  men  doing  the  work  have  not  the 
training  or  the  skill  necessary  to  select  the  best  roadway. 
They  are  bound  by  local  political  interests,  and  they  hesitate 
to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain.  The  consequence 
is  that  roads  everywhere  run  over  hills  instead  of  passing  by 
a  level  course  around  their  bases ;  they  pass  through  swamps, 
sand  stretches,  or  along  rocky  side-hills.  This  must  all  be 
remedied  before  we  can  have  good  roads. 

1  In  such  a  case  the  price  of  the  right-of-way  is  fixed  by  a  jury 
of  the  neighborhood. 


54    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Construction  of  Roads.  But  suppose  the  road  to  have 
been  properly  located.  It  has  yet  to  be  constructed.  Here 
is  a  second  opportunity  to  spoil  it,  if  the  first  has  failed.  In 
order  to  meet  the  requirement  of  dryness,  the  road-bed  must 
be  well  drained.  This  is  of  fundamental  importance.  Usu- 
ally it  is  not  attended  to,  and  all  work  expended  on  the  road- 
bed may  be  worse  than  lost. 

The  next  point  is  to  provide  a  hard  smooth  surface.  The 
approved  way  to  do  this  is  to  cover  the  soil  to  the  depth  of 
several  inches  with  some  durable  material  like  crushed  rock, 
which  is  then  rolled  with  a  heavy  roller  until  perfectly  firm 
and  smooth.  Instead  of  doing  this,  the  common  practice  is 
to  scrape  in  loose  dirt,  which  simply  deepens  the  mud  in  wet 
seasons. 

Why  do  men  continue  to  follow  such  ruinous  methods  in 
road-making?  Simply  because  of  the  lack  of  scientific  know- 
ledge on  a  subject  where  such  knowledge  is  essential,  and 
because  of  a  false  idea  of  economy.  Farmers  and  merchants 
are  skilled  in  their  own  professions,  and  are  the  best  judges 
of  matters  relating  to  their  work ;  but  they  are  not  necessa- 
rily competent  to  do  work  which  belongs  to  the  trained  civil 
engineer. 

When  roads  are  properly  located  and  constructed,  the 
problem  of  repair  is  a  simple  one.  A  very  little  attention  each 
year  is  sufficient.  Under  conditions  as  they  are  in  many 
states,  the  repairing  of  roads  is  the  important  thing.  Every 
year  the  tax-payers  of  the  country  furnish  enormous  sums  for 
the  repair  of  dirt-roads,  with  no  permanent  benefit. 

Working  out  the  Road  Tax.  One  great  evil  is  con- 
nected with  the  methods  of  applying  the  tax.  Often  the 
polls  ^  and  property  owners  are  allowed  to  work  it  out.  This 
is  utterly  pernicious  in  practice,  for  several  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  on  account  of  their  political  or  other  control  over 
the  supervisor,  many  tax-payers  escape  the  tax  in  whole  or 

^  Polls  are  those  persons  who  are  subject  to  the  poll-tax.  Usu- 
ally all  males  over  twenty-one,  unless  they  are  exempted  for  some 
reason,  are  required  to  pa]^  a  poll-tax. 


MANAGEMENT  OF   SCHOOLS   AND   ROADS      55 

in  part.  Secondly,  the  supervisor,  being  chosen  by  his  neigh- 
bors and  equals,  has  no  control  over  such  a  body  of  men  as 
come  out  in  response  to  his  summons  to  work  on  the  road. 
Thirdly,  no  one  so  employed  for  only  a  few  days  in  the  year 
can  do  his  most  effective  work.  The  result  is,  "  road  work- 
ing "  is  another  name  for  a  holiday.  The  time  and  money 
of  conscientious  citizens  are  squandered,  and  the  roads  are  as 
bad  as  ever. 

The  Remedy  for  Bad  Roads.  The  remedy,  as  in  the 
case  of  poor  schools,  is  to  be  found  in  larger  units  for  road 
management  and  greater  centralization.  In  order  to  secure 
the  blessing  of  good  roads,  the  people  must  give  up  some  of 
their  cherished  power  to  make  bad  ones.  They  must  dele- 
gate to  some  one  having  the  required  scientific  knowledge 
the  power  to  locate  new  roads,  and  relocate  old  ones.  They 
must  also  place  their  construction  under  such  supervision. 
When  this  is  done,  repair  is  a  minor  point.  It  might  be  left 
to  local  care,  but  there  ought  to  be  skilled  supervision  even 
here. 

The  experience  of  American  states  proves  that  the  county 
is  the  best  unit  for  road  management.  When  we  compare 
the  results  in  Ohio  with  those  in  Wisconsin,  no  doubt  remains 
on  this  head.  Ohio  county  governments  have  long  exercised 
the  power  of  locating  and  controlling  the  construction  of  the 
important  highways.  The  result  is  a  network  of  fine,  well- 
built  turnpikes,  on  which  it  is  pleasant  to  travel  and  econom- 
ical to  transport  products.  In  Wisconsin,  where  the  county 
board  lays  out  roads,  but  where  their  construction  and  repair 
are  wholly  under  local  control,  primitive  road  conditions  still 
prevail. 

In  the  important  matter  of  roads,  the  states  having  the 
county  system  have  a  distinct  advantage.  A  few  modifica- 
tions of  present  laws  will  usually  be  all  that  is  necessary  to 
give  them  excellent  road  administration.  For  example,  the 
appointment  of  a  county  engineer,  as  the  agent  of  the  com- 
missioners' court  in  locating  and  supervising  the  construction 
of  new  roads,  and  the  collection  of  the  road  tax  in  money, 


56    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE  AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

would  be  a  promising  way  to  begin  the  reform.  Some  states 
have  recently  passed  laws  to  this  end.^  The  results  remain 
to  be  seen. 

A  Hopeful  Outlook.  In  the  two  matters  of  the  improve- 
ment of  schools  and  roads,  the  present  is  a  time  of  great 
activity.  The  minds  of  the  best  citizens  everywhere  are  set 
in  the  right  direction.  All  that  is  necessary  now  is  persist- 
ence and  the  exercise  of  wise  policy  in  making  the  changes 
needed. 

SUMMARY 

In  a  government  by  the  people,  good  common  schools  are 
absolutely  necessary.  We  recognize  this  fact,  and  our  states 
tax  all  the  people  having  property  for  the  support  of  the 
schools.  Thus  vast  sums  of  money  are  expended  upon  the 
schools,  and  yet  they  are  often  very  inefficient.  Men  have 
seen  that  this  is  due  partly  to  a  wrong  system  of  school  man- 
agement. An  important  reform  is  to  change  from  the  "  dis- 
trict "  system  to  the  "  township "  system,  or  the  "  union 
school  district "  system,  so  as  to  enlarge  the  unit  for  school 
management. 

A  similar  reform  is  being  urged  in  the  matter  of  roads. 
In  this  case  the  county  seems  to  be  the  best  unit.  In  order 
to  have  good  roads,  they  must  be  properly  located  and  con- 
structed. This  requires  the  services  of  skilled  engineers, 
whom  the  county  could  employ  for  the  purpose. 

^  Oregon  passed  a  road  law  of  this  nature  in  1901. 


OUTLINE 

FOR  STUDYING  THE  PRESENT   COUNTY  SYSTEM 

{Intended  for  use  in  states  having  the  county  system^ 

1.  County  Commissioners  (legislative  officers). 

a.  What  is  their  number  ;  are  they  chosen  on  a  general  ticket,  or 
by  districts;  what  is  their  term,  and  what  salary  do  they  receive? 

b.  Does  the  county  judge  act  as  one  Of  the  commissioners  ? 

c.  For  what  purposes  may  the  commissioners  tax  the  people  of 
the  county  ?  Make  a  written  outline  of  the  process  of  raising  money, 
from  the  laying  of  the  tax  to  its  collection.  Describe  the  part 
taken  in  the  process  by  each  officer  or  group  of  officers  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  it. 

d.  Describe  the  powers  of  the  commissioners  in  the  matters  of 
locating  and  constructing  roads,  building  bridges,  managing  fer- 
ries.    Do  they  supervise  the  repair  of  roads  ? 

e.  What  control,  if  any,  do  they  have  over  the  schools  ? 

y.  What  kinds  of  property  does  the  county  own?  Who  con- 
trols it? 

g.  What  power  do  the  commissioners  have  to  appoint  men  to 
do  work  for  the  county  ?   Define  the  duties  of  such  appointees. 

^.  In  what  ways  may  the  commissioners  control  the  elected  offi- 
cers of  the  county  ?    (Do  they  audit  accounts  ?) 

2.  County  Judge  and  Justices  of  the  Peace  (judicial 
officers). 

a.  What  is  the  term  of  office  of  the  county  judge,  and  his  salary? 
Need  he  be  "  learned  in  the  law  "  ? 

b.  What  kinds  of  business  come  before  his  court  ?  (Is  it  all  pro- 
bate business,  or  does  he  have  jurisdiction  in  civil  and  criminal 
matters,  and  if  so,  to  what  extent  ?  ) 

c.  Are  the  justices  chosen  on  a  general  ticket,  or  by  precincts  ? 
What  is  their  term,  and  how  are  they  paid  ? 

d.  What  powers  do  they  have  in  criminal  matters  ;  in  civil  cases  ? 


58    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

3.  The  Executive  or  Administrative  Officers. 

a.  Make  a  list  of  them :  find  out  the  principal  duties  of  each. 

b.  For  what  terms  are  they  chosen,  and  what  salary  do  they  get? 

4.  Divisions  of  the  County  (smaller  local  units). 

Name  all  the  smaller  divisions  within  the  county  ;  describe  the 
purpose  of  each,  and  state  who  has  the  power  to  make  or  to  change 
them. 

5.  Relations  with  the  State  Government. 

a.  Is  there  a  state  court  which  holds  sessions  in  the  county  ?  If 
so,  what  is  it  called,  and  how  extensive  is  its  jurisdiction  ? 

b.  What  power  created  the  county,  and  made  the  laws  according 
,to  which  the  county  officers  are  chosen  and  all  county  business  car- 
ried on .?  Would  it  be  proper  to  call  the  county  a  mere  subordinate 
division  of  the  state,  created  for  convenience  in  governing  } 

OUTLINE 

FOR   studying  the  TOWNSHIP   SYSTEM 

{Intended  for  use  in  states  having  the  township  system^ 

1.  The  Town  Meeting. 

a.  When  is  it  held,  and  who  have  the  right  to  attend  ? 

b.  What  power  does  the  meeting  have  in  matters  of  taxation .? 

c.  What  things  can  the  township  do  for  which  money  is  needed  ? 

d.  How  are  the  paupers  of  the  town  supported  ?  What  powers 
does  the  township  exercise  over  schools  ?   over  roads  and  bridges  ? 

e.  What  township  property  is  there,  and  how  is  it  used  ? 

2.  The  Township  Officers. 

a.  Make  a  list  of  all  township  officers. 

b.  What  is  the  title  of  the  head  officer ;  what  are  his  duties,  and 
how  is  he  assisted  ? 

c.  Make  a  written  outline  of  the  process  of  raising  money  for 
township  uses,  beginning  with  the  levying  of  the  tax  and  ending 
with  the  collection  of  the  money  by  the  treasurer.  Describe  the 
part  taken  in  the  process  by  the  assessor,  the  board  of  equaliza- 
tion, the  town  clerk,  and  the  treasurer.  Suppose  a  property  owner 
refuses  or  neglects  to  pay  his  share  of  the  tax,  by  what  means  is  it 
collected.'*  What  other  officers  have  a  part  in  the  process  in  such 
a  case  ? 


SUGGESTIONS  AND  QUESTIONS       59 

SUGGESTIONS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  Procure  the  names  of  the  present  county  officers  in  your 
county.  What  fees,  if  any,  are  paid  for  particular  services  ?  Are 
the  fees  kept  by  the  officer,  or  turned  over  to  the  county  ?  Try  to 
find  out,  by  a  personal  visit  if  possible,  whcLt  sort  of  office  they  work 
in,  what  books  they  keep,  whether  these  are  kept  in  a  vault  or  not, 
how  far  back  the  records  run,  and  whether  they  have  ever  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  What  county  offices  are  most  sought  after  by 
citizens? 

2.  Select  the  things  for  which  taxes  are  levied  by  the  Wisconsin 
town  meeting  and  also  by  the  Oregon  commissioners'  court. 

3.  In  Wisconsin  the  county  maintains  a  poor-house  and  a  poor- 
farm,  but  the  towns  which  send  paupers  there  are  obliged  to  pay 
for  their  individual  support.  Is  this  a  good  system  ?  Why  should 
one  town  be  obliged  to  pay  for  the  support  of  five  paupers,  while 
the  rest  of  the  county  may  have  but  four  to  provide  for  ? 

4.  Select  from  the  ticket  on  page  39  the  executive  and  judicial 
officers  of  the  town.  Are  there  any  legislative  officers  chosen  ? 
Why  not  ? 

5.  Show  how  the  county  system  is  more  economical  than  the  town- 
ship system. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  "reservation  for  the  ministry,"  page  44? 
Look  up  the  meaning  of  "  glebe."  Is  the  church  in  your  state 
supported  by  funds  derived  from  public  lands?  How  is  it  sup- 
ported ? 

7.  Distinguish  between  congressional  township,  civil  township, 
and  school  township.  May  the  three  names  apply  to  the  same  area 
at  the  same  time  ? 

8.  Castle  Rock  township  is  described  as  "  township  number 
seven,  range  one  west."    What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ? 

9.  The  sixteenth  section  is  the  one  reserved  for  schools  in  each 
township  when  but  one  is  reserved.  Sixteen  and  thirty-six  are  the 
numbers  reserved  when  two  are  set  aside.  Find  the  value  of  the 
school  section  in  Castle  Rock  at  $10  per  acre.  Do  the  school  sec- 
tions in  your  state  sell  for  more  or  less  than  this  sum  ?  Is  that  an 
average  price  for  land  ? 

10.  What  are  the  benefits  of  a  uniform  system  of  land  surveys  ? 
How  was  land  surveyed  before  our  present  system  was  adopted, 
and  what  were  its  effects  ?  See  Roosevelt's  "  Winning  of  the 
West,"  iii.  7-10 ;  also  Gillan's  "  Lessons  in  Mathematical  Geogra- 
phy." 


6o    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

11.  Learn  to  describe  fully  some  piece  of  land  with  which  you 
are  familiar,  as,  for  example,  "  the  northwest  ^  of  the  southeast  \ 
of  section  32,  township  No.  6,  range  onewesV^ 

12.  What  is  meant  by  a  Po// f  (see  page  54.)  Who  pay  and 
who  are  exempt  from  poll-tax  in  your  state?  Is  the  poll-tax  a  just 
tax?     Would  it  be  well  to  raise  all  taxes  in  this  way? 

13.  Show  how  it  is  that  when  men  escape  the  payment  of  any 
portion  of  the  taxes  properly  faUing  upon  them,  they  add  to  the 
burden  of  every  honest  tax-payer. 

14.  What  are  the  arguments  in  favor  of  working  out  the  road 
tax  ?  Show  how  public  and  private  interests  apparently  conflict  in 
the  matter  of  road  work. 

15.  Assume  a  fair  price  per  day  for  the  time  of  a  man  and  a  team. 
Now  figure  out  the  cost  of  transporting  the  products  of  some  farm 
of  your  acquaintance  to  the  nearest  railway.  Assuming  that  the 
best  kind  of  road  would  allow  the  hauling  of  double  the  weight 
now  drawn  at  a  load,  what  sum  of  money  would  the  farmer  in  ques- 
tion be  justified  in  paying  for  road  improvement  ? 

16.  What  is  meant  by  log-rolling  in  pohtics?  Can  it  be  avoided? 
What  are  its  evils  ? 

17.  Describe  all  the  different  ways  of  voting. 

18.  What  evils  are  connected  with  the  fee  system,  and  how  can 
they  be  lessened  or  abolished  ?     To  what  extent  is  it  justifiable  ? 

19.  Who  are  voters  at  the  annual  school  meeting  in  your  town  or 
district  ?  Who  are  voters  at  the  town  meeting  for  the  election  for 
county  officers  ?     Why  is  the  difference  made,  if  there  is  one  ? 

20.  Obtain  a  copy  of  the  school  report  of  your  district.  Find 
from  it  how  much  money  was  raised  by  tax,  how  much  was  obtained 
from  the  school  fund,  and  how  much  came  from  other  sources. 

21.  Is  your  school  well  or  ill  supported  ?  If  ill,  is  it  on  account  of 
the  small  size  of  the  district,  or  for  some  other  cause  ?  Are  there 
more  pupils  in  attendance  now  than  formerly,  or  the  contrary? 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CITY  LIFE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Townships  and  Counties  precede  Cities.  When 
settlers  came  to  Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  they  found 
a  wilderness.  The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  make  the 
soil,  the  forests,  and  the  streams  yield  them  a  living. 
Woods  were  prepared  for  shipment,  furs  collected  either 
by  the  white  men  or  by  the  Indians  for  them,  and  fish 
and  game  captured  for  immediate  use  as  food.  The  next 
thing  was  to  prepare  ground  for  crops.  The  extent  of 
the  country  was  almost  limitless.  The  process  of  devel- 
opment would  take  a  long  time,  and  for  that  reason  cities 
could  not  grow  rapidly.  The  colonists  were  destined  to 
be  hunters,  trappers,  Indian  traders,  cattle  grazers,  and 
farmers  for  many  generations.  Not  until  population 
became  comparatively  large  did  it  begin  to  mass  greatly 
in  special  places. 

Towns  needed  to  supply  Foreign  Goods.  Towns 
were  useful  as  centres  for  the  supply  of  the  foreign  goods 
which  the  colonists  needed.  But  even  for  this  purpose 
they  were  not  of  equal  necessity  everywhere.  In  Vir- 
ginia, for  example,  the  plantations  were  mostly  on  navi- 
gable rivers,  and  each  planter  had  his  private  wharf.  So, 
when  traders  visited  the  country,  they  did  not  discharge 
and  take  cargoes  at  seaport  places,  but  passed  up  the 
rivers,  stopping  at  the  plantations.  Here  they  exchanged 
their  manufactured  goods  for  tobacco  and  other  products 
of  the  soil.     This  state  of  things  made  towns  impossible. 


62    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

The  Virginia  house  of  burgesses  tried  at  first  to  en- 
courage them,  but  without  effect.  They  could  not  be 
created  by  law. 

In  New  England  there  was  an  earlier  development  of 
towns.  Some  of  the  settlements  were  originally  made 
as  trading  stations.  Then,  too,  people  settled  in  compact 
villages  on  account  of  their  church  relations,  and  these 
villages  easily  changed  into  towns.  Advantages  of  trade, 
either  with  the  interior  or  with  the  coast  settlements  at  a 
distance,  were  pretty  certain  to  bring  about  the  change. 
So  there  were  always,  from  the  earliest  times,  places 
which  were  looked  upon  as  centres  of  supply.  But  they 
remained  very  small  for  a  long  time.  Not  until  well  into 
the  eighteenth  century,  when  commerce  began  to  grow 
rapidly,  did  towns  become  of  considerable  importance. 

Shipbuilding  and  the  Fisheries  promote  Commerce 
and  the  Growth  of  Towns.  Two  things  helped  greatly 
to  promote  a  commercial  spirit  in  the  northern  colonies, 
and  thereby  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  more  rapid  growth 
of  towns.  The  forests  of  New  England  furnished  the 
best  kind  of  ship  timber,  and  the  many  rivers  made  it 
easy  to  get  this  to  the  coast.  From  the  first,  boats  and 
ships  were  constructed  for  local  uses.  After  a  time 
shipbuilding  ^  became  an  important  industry,  and  vessels 
were  built,  not  only  to  supply  the  home  demand,  but  for 
foreign  markets  as  well.  New  Englanders  now  engaged 
largely  in  the  carrying  trade,  taking  American  products 
to  the  markets  of  the  old  world  and  bringing  back,  for 
North  and  South  alike,  the  articles  of  necessity  and  of 
luxury  required  by  the  people. 

Much  of  the  demand  for  ships  came  from  men  who 
were  engaged  in  the  fisheries  along  the  east  coast  and  in 
the  northern  waters.  Fish,  too,  were  an  important  article 
^  See  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  p.  19. 


CITY   LIFE   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  63 

of  export.  Some  kinds  were  sold  chiefly  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  a  large  trade  grew  up  between  the  New  Eng- 
land seaports  and  some  of  these  islands.^  It  has  been 
estimated  that  at  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
American  commerce  was  carried  on  with  between  two 
and  three  hundred  ships.  This  was  the  cause  of  the 
first  noteworthy  growth  of  towns.  But  even  this  growth 
was  exceedingly  small  in  comparison  with  the  results  of 
a  single  decade  now.  In  1 790  there  were  but  six  towns 
or  cities  with  a  population  of  more  than  eight  thousand.^ 
No  great  change  occurred  during  the  next  twenty  years. 
But  after  18 10  many  causes  worked  together  to  give  city 
life  a  development  theretofore  unknown.  The  chief  of 
these  causes  were,  {a)  the  growth  of  manufactures,  and 
{b)  the  rapid  increase  of  trade  with  the  interior  of  the 
country. 

The  Growth  of  Manufactures  promotes  the  Growth 
of  Cities.  Until  after  the  Revolutionary  War  the  Amer- 
icans continued  to  depend  on  Europe  for  manufactured 
goods.  Articles  which  could  not  be  obtained  readily  from 
abroad,  but  which  it  was  necessary  for  the  people  to  have, 
were  made  at  home.  There  was  no  factory  system  such 
as  England  had.  For  many  years  after  the  Revolution 
"  agriculture,  commerce,  and  the  necessary  mechanic  arts 
continued  to  form  the  main  occupation  of  the  people."  ^ 

But  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  the  new  century  a 
number  of  things  combined  to  bring  about  a  rapid  devel- 
opment of  manufactures.  England  and  France  were 
at  war,  and  were  trying  to  injure  each  other  by  cutting 
off  trade  with   the  Americans.     Congress   passed  the 

1  See  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  p.  46. 
^  For  an  interesting  account^f  city  life  about  1800,  see  Fiske's 
History  of  the  United  States^  pp.  262-264. 

*  Taussig,  Tariff  History  of  the  United  States^  p.  10. 


64    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Embargo  Act,^  which  nearly  destroyed  our  shipping. 
Goods  which  had  to  be  imported  became  scarce  and  high, 
while  the  products  of  our  farms  rotted  in  the  barns  and 
granaries.  Great  distress  fell  upon  the  country,  and  peo- 
ple soon  saw  that  it  was  a  bad  thing  to  depend  upon 
a  foreign  market  for  necessaries.  Then  came  the  war  of 
1812,  during  which,  of  course,  Americans  could  not  trade 
freely  with  England.  But  these  necessaries  had  to  be 
supplied  in  some  way,  and  the  result  was  a  remarkable 
growth  of  manufactures  in  the  United  States  during  these 
years.  In  1803  there  were  only  three  cotton-mills  in  the 
whole  country ;  in  1 8 1 2  there  were  fifty  within  thirty 
miles  of  Providence.  In  1800  we  used  altogether  five 
hundred  bales  of  cotton,  in  18 10  the  amount  was  ten 
thousand  bales,  and  in  181 5  ninety  thousand  bales. 

This  shows  that  we  were  entering  on  a  new  stage  of 
development  as  a  nation.  Up  to  that  time,  the  Amer- 
icans had  been  mainly  an  agricultural  and  commercial 
people ;  now  they  were  coming  to  be  a  manufacturing 
people  as  well,  and  this  meant  that  a  larger  and  larger 
proportion  of  the  population  would  live  in  cities,  where 
manufacturing  was  carried  on. 

Trade  with  the  Interior  promotes  the  Growth  of 
Cities.  The  era  beginning  with  the  war  of  18 12  is  the 
era  of  "going  west."  We  have  already  seen  that  a  great 
movement  westward  took  place  at  this  time.  Thousands 
of  people  from  the  northern  states  went  to  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois,  while  in  the  south,  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  and  Missouri  were  settled  in  an  equally  short 
space  of  time.  In  five  years  five  new  states  were  added 
to  the  Union. 

1  The  Embargo  Act  cut  off  all  foreign  commerce,  by  providing 
that  no  American  ship  should  leave  a  port  of  the  United  States 
bound  for  any  foreign  port. 


CITY   LIFE    IN    THE    UNITED   STATES  6$ 

This  movement  had  been  helped  along  greatly  by  the 
invention  of  the  steamboat  and  also  by  the  opening  of 
the  National  Road  from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  to 
Wheeling  on  the  Ohio  River.  But  a  much  more  power- 
ful impulse  was  given  by  the  Erie  Canal,  completed  in 
1825,  which  connected  the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Hudson 
River.^  The  entire  Northwest  Territory  was  now  brought 
into  connection  with  the  seaboard.  Michigan  and  Wis- 
consin began  to  be  settled.  The  trade  which  had  been 
flowing  down  the  Mississippi  was  turned  eastward  to  the 
lakes  and  the  canal.  The  result  was,  as  had  been  antici- 
pated, an  almost  magical  growth  of  the  city  of  New  York. 
It  soon  outstripped  all  rivals  and  became  the  metropolis 
of  the  country.  In  1840  it  had  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million  people,  more  than  half  a  million  in  1850,  and  by 
1880  it  had  passed  the  million  mark.^ 

The  prosperity  of  New  York  caused  other  cities  to  try 
to  secure  a  portion  of  the  growing  interior  trade.  This 
led  to  more  canal  building,  and  later  to  the  construction 
of  the  great  lines  of  railroad  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to 
the  Mississippi  Valley.^ 

During  all  this  time  the  population  of  the  interior  was 
growing  at  a  surprising  rate,  partly  by  natural  increase, 
partly  on  account  of  the  thousands  who  each  year  went 
west  from  the  seaboard  states,  and  partly  on  account  of 
the  great  influx  of  people  from  Europe.*     The  wealth  of 

1  For  an  account  of  the  Erie  Canal,  see  McMaster,  School  His- 
tory^ pp.  282-285. 

2  In  1900  it  had  three  and  a  half  millions.  This  increase  was  in 
large  part  due  to  the  recent  annexation  of  a  number  of  suburbs 
together  with  the  great  city  of  Brooklyn. 

2  Finally  some  of  these  lines  were  extended  to  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

^  Many  of  these  men  remained  in  the  eastern  cities  to  work  in 
the  factories,  others  supplied  the  great  demand  for  labor  caused 


66    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE  AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

the  country  increased  even  more  rapidly  than  the  popu- 
lation, so  that  the  demand  for  goods,  supplied  by  the 
commercial  and  manufacturing  cities,  was  multiplied 
many  times. 

The  Unexampled  Growth  of  American  Cities. 
These  facts  help  to  explain  the  marvelous  growth  of 
American  cities  during  the  nineteenth  century.  Nothing 
like  it  had  ever  been  known  before.  The  larger  seaport 
towns  doubled,  tripled,  and  even  quadrupled  their  popu- 
lation and  wealth  in  the  course  of  a  single  decade,  while 
hundreds  of  villages  on  the  coast  streams  became  pop- 
ulous and  flourishing  manufacturing  towns.  In  the  in- 
terior the  story  was  the  same.  On  the  bogs  at  the  south 
end  of  Lake  Michigan  rose  Chicago,  passing  from  the 
condition  of  a  village  to  that  of  a  city  of  more  than  a 
million  people  in  the  space  of  sixty  years.  In  1790  there 
were  six  towns  of  more  than  eight  thousand  population  ;  ^ 
in  1900  there  were  five  hundred  and  seventeen  such 
towns. 

In  1790  only  one  city,  Philadelphia,  had  over  forty 
thousand  people ;  in  1 890  there  were  seventy-three  cities 
in  that  class,  three  of  which  had  each  over  a  million,  seven 
between  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  five  hundred  thousand, 
fourteen  between  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and  fifteen  between  seventy- 
five  and  one   hundred   and   twenty-five   thousand.     In 

by  the  opening  of  new  lines  of  railway,  while  the  remainder  went 
west  to  take  up  land  and  make  homes. 

1  In  1820  there  were  thirteen;  twenty  years  later  forty-four ;  in 
1850  there  were  eighty-five,  and  in  i860  one  hundred  and  forty-one. 
By  1870  the  number  had  grown  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-six; 
by  1880  to  two  hundred  and  eighty-six ;  the  census  of  1890  showed 
four  hundred  and  forty-eight,  and  that  of  1900  five  hundred  and 
seventeen. 


CITY   LIFE   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES  6/ 

1800  there  were  three  cities  with  a  population  of  more 
than  twenty-five  thousand  each  ;  in  1900  there  were  one 
hundred  and  fifty-nine.^  Nineteen  of  these  had  over  two 
hundred  thousand,  nineteen  over  one  hundred  thousand, 
forty  over  fifty  and  under  one  hundred  thousand,  and 
eighty-one  over  twenty- five  and  under  fifty  thousand. 
The  percentage  of  the  city  population  to  the  total  popu- 
lation of  the  country  at  different  periods  is  still  more 
startling.  In  1790  it  was  3.35  ;  in  1850,  12.49;  in  1870, 
20.93  ;  and  in  1890,  29.20. 

The  ProbleEQ  of  Cities.  This  mighty  transformation 
has  brought  with  it  the  most  serious  governmental  prob- 
lems that  we  have  as  yet  had  to  meet.  The  government 
of  rural  townships,  or  of  counties,  is  a  simple  matter. 
Our  states  are  usually  easy  to  govern.  Even  the  national 
organization  gives  thoughtful  people  less  concern  than 
do  the  stupendous  problems  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment of  cities.  In  1800  there  was  no  problem  of  cities  ; 
in  1900  that  problem  overshadowed  all  others.  It  is  neces- 
sary, then,  for  American  citizens  to  make  a  special  effort 
to  discover  the  best  methods  of  city  government,  and  to 
insist  on  putting  good  methods  in  the  place  of  bad  ones. 

SUMMARY 
Towns  grew  slowly  in  the  colonies,  because  there  was  little 
need  for  them  except  to  supply  the  people  with  foreign  goods. 
They  grew  faster  in  the  North  than  in  the  South  because,  (a) 
New  England  people  settled  in  compact  villages  while  the 
southern  people  were  mostly  planters  ;  (d)  shipbuilding  and 
the  fisheries  promoted  commerce  in  the  North,  and  this  led 
to  the  growth  of  towns.  Yet  the  towns  were  few  and  small 
in  1800. 

1  The  total  population  of  these  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  cities 
in  1880  was  9,933,927.  In  1890  it  was  14,855,489.  By  1900  the 
total  had  grown  to  19,694,625. 


68    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

After  1800  the  growth  was  rapid  and  became  unparalleled. 
The  main  causes  were,  (a)  the  development  of  manufacturing  ; 
and  (^)  the  opening  up  of  the  vast  interior  of  the  country. 
This  growth  of  towns  has  given  American  citizens  new  prob- 
lems of  government  to  solve. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BOSTON,   PHILADELPHIA,    AND    CHICAGO 

The  Government  of  the  Town  of  Boston.  During 
colonial  times  there  were  few  places  that  could  be  called 
cities.  New  England  had  only  one  city,  New  York  one, 
and  Pennsylvania  one,  —  the  largest  and  most  important 
of  all.  The  last  two  had  the  city  form  of  government,  but 
the  first  did  not.  In  Boston  the  people  began  with  the 
township  form.  Year  after  year  they  chose  their  select- 
men and  other  officers  in  town  meeting,  and  managed 
the  affairs  of  the  town  by  means  of  this  popular  assembly. 
As  the  place  grew  in  population,  the  number  of  voters 
became  so  great  that  sometimes  Faneuil  Hall  was  too 
small  to  hold  them,  and  the  Old  South  Church  was  used 
for  the  meetings.  At  last  this  too  was  outgrown,  but  the 
people  still  clung  to  their  cherished  right  of  self-govern- 
ment. Finally,  in  1822,  almost  two  hundred  years  after 
the  planting  of  the  town,  the  old  system  was  given  up. 

By  this  time  the  population  of  Boston  had  reached 
forty-five  thousand,  and  there  were  over  seven  thousand 
voters.  The  change  had  been  simply  forced  upon  the 
people  by  growth  of  numbers.  There  was  no  hall  large 
enough  to  contain  all  the  voters,  and  if  there  had  been, 
a  body  of  seven  thousand  men  could  not  legislate.  The 
town  meetings  were  no  longer  popular  assemblies. 
Those  who  had  some  special  interest  to  look  after  were 
always  on  hand  ;  the  rest  stayed  away.     "  The  select- 


70    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

men,  the  town  officers,  and  thirty  or  forty  inhabitants  "  * 
made  up  the  town  meeting  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances. A  few  men  practically  controlled  the  affairs  of 
the  town. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  intricate  the  town  busi- 
ness had  become.  A  small  army  of  officers  was  re- 
quired to  carry  on  the  government.  There  were  "  nine 
selectmen,  whose  chairman  generally  had  charge  of  the 
police ;  twelve  overseers  of  the  poor  ;  thirty  fire-wards  ; 
twelve  school  committeemen ;  twelve  members  of  a 
board  of  health,  —  one  chosen  by  each  ward  ;  twenty 
surveyors  of  boards  ;  six  fence-viewers ;  six  cullers  of 
hoops  and  staves  ;  nine  cullers  of  dry  fish  ;  four  field- 
drivers  ;  three  inspectors  of  lime ;  two  surveyors  of 
hemp  ;  two  surveyors  of  wheat ;  two  assay  masters ;  a 
town  treasurer,  and  a  town  clerk."  ^ 

It  is  no  wonder,  considering  this  multitude  of  officers, 
and  the  variety  of  interests  to  be  served,  that  *'  the 
want  of  a  responsible  head  to  take  the  lead  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  town  was  extensively  felt."  ^ 

The  Government  of  the  City  of  Boston.  The  last 
act  of  the  Boston  town  meeting  was  to  accept  the  new 
charter  creating  the  city  of  Boston.  This  it  did  March 
4,  1822,  at  Faneuil  Hall.  The  vote  stood  2797  in  favor, 
and  1 88 1  against.  This  shows  what  a  powerful  hold 
the  township  system  had  gained  over  the  minds  of  the 
citizens.  "Not  a  few  of  the  old  residents  who  had 
fought  under  the  eyes  of  Washington  in  the  field,  and 
under  the  eyes  of  Samuel  Adams  in  the  town  meetings, 
looked  upon  the  act  which  divided  their  great  folk-mote 

^  James  M.  Bugbee,   The  City  Government  of  Boston^  Johns 
Hopkins  University  Studies,  Fifth  Series,  iii.,  p.  20. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  21.  *  Ibid.,  p.  21. 


BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND   CHICAGO        /I 

into  twelve  separate  and  silent  gatherings,  where  men 
delegated  their  rights  to  others,  as  the  beginning  of  the 
end  of  democratic  government."  ^ 

The  charter  divided  the  city  into  twelve  wards.  Each 
was  to  be  an  election  precinct,  with  a  warden,  clerk,  and 
five  inspectors,  all  chosen  by  the  voters.  At  the  annual 
election  there  was  to  be  chosen  **  one  able  and  discreet 
person,  being  an  inhabitant  of  the  city,  to  be  mayor  for 
the  term  of  one  year."  He  was  the  executive  officer. 
There  was  also  to  be  a  board  of  aldermen,  eight  in 
number,  to  be  chosen  at  large  ;  and  a  common  council 
composed  of  forty-eight  men,  four  from  each  ward.  The 
wards  also  chose  one  school  committeeman,  one  overseer 
of  the  poor,  and  three  fire-wards  each.^ 

The  mayor  and  aldermen  formed  an  upper  house,  and 
the  forty-eight  members  of  the  common  council  a  lower 
house,  of  the  city  legislature,  called  the  city  council. 
The  mayor  presided  over  the  first  branch,  and  a  member 
of  the  common  council,  elected  by  that  body,  over  the 
other.  Every  measure  had  to  pass  both  houses  in  order 
to  become  a  law.  This  city  council  had  the  general 
powers  of  the  former  town  meeting.  The  right  of  legis- 
lation had  simply  been  transferred  from  all  the  people 
to  a  chosen  part  oi  the  people.  Many  of  the  city  officers 
also,  such  as  the  "auditor  of  accounts,  the  assessors  of 
taxes,  the  engineers  of  the  fire  department,  the  superin- 
tendent of  streets,"  ^  and  others  less  important,  were 
chosen  by  the  city  council. 

Such  in  outline  was  the  new  government  which  took 
the  place  of  the  Boston  town  meeting.  The  charter 
remained  in  force  until  1854,  when  it  was  completely 

^  James  M.  Bugbee,  Ibid.^  p.  23. 

*  Jbid.y  p.  24.  «  Ibid,^  p.  26. 


72    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

revised.  With  the  changes  made  since  then  the  power 
of  the  mayor  has  been  greatly  increased,  while  that  of  the 
council  is  restricted  in  various  ways.^  At  present  the 
office  of  mayor  of  Boston  is  one  of  great  dignity  and 
importance.  His  term  is  two  years,  his  salary  ^10,000 
per  year.  He  has  the  power  to  appoint  and  remove  all 
the  principal  officers  and  boards,  and  has  a  veto  on  all 
measures  passed  by  the  council.  It  requires  a  two  thirds' 
vote  to  pass  a  measure  over  the  mayor's  veto.  No  con- 
tract, no  conveyance  of  city  property,  no  financial  act 
of  the  school  board,  is  valid  without  his  approval. 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  this  distinctively  American 
community,  which  began  with  the  purest  kind  of  demo- 
cracy, the  tendency  has  been  toward  a  sort  of  qualified 
monarchy,  —  a  monarchy  limited  to  a  two  years'  term. 
It  has  not  reached  the  extreme  of  one-man  power,  for 
the  city  council  always  limits  the  action  of  the  mayor, 
but  the  tendency  has  been  to  increase  his  power  at  the 
expense  of  that  of  the  legislative  branch.  This,  we 
shall  find,  is  a  tendency  which  can  be  seen  in  the  his- 
tory of  other  cities  as  well  as  Boston. 

Philadelphia  :  Early  Government ;  Charter  of  1701. 
The  city  of  Philadelphia  illustrates  a  widely  different 
origin  of  city  government  from  that  of  Boston.  When 
William  Penn  received  his  charter  from  Charles  II.  one 
of  its  provisions  gave  him  the  right  to  "  divide  the  coun- 
try into  towns,  hundreds,  and  counties,  and  to  erect  and 
incorporate  towns  into  boroughs  and  boroughs  into  cities, 
and  to  make  and  constitute  fairs  and  markets  therein."  2 

^  For  a  convenient  outline  of  city  government  in  Boston  under 
the  charter  of  1854,  see  Bryce,  Aftierican  Commo7i'wealth^  i.  600- 
603. 

2  Allinson  and  Penrose,  The  .City  Government  of  Philadelphia^ 
Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  Fifth  Series,  i.,  ii.,  p.  10. 


BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND   CHICAGO        73 

Philadelphia  was  laid  out  in  the  peninsula  between  the 
Delaware  and  Schuylkill  rivers  soon  after  the  planting 
of  the  colony.  It  was  governed  during  the  early 
period,  probably,  by  the  county  court.  But  in  1701 
Penn  granted  the  city  a  charter  which  to  Americans  of 
to-day  seems  a  very  peculiar  instrument.  In  a  historical 
way,  however,  it  is  of  very  great  interest,  because  it  con- 
nects American  city  government  directly  with  the  form 
of  government  which  prevailed  in  the  boroughs  and 
cities  of  England  1  at  that  time.  In  fact,  Philadelphia 
was  intended  to  be  an  English  borough,  planted  in  the 
forests  of  America. 

City  government  in  England  was  usually  in  the  hands 
of  a  small  body  of  men  who  held  the  offices  independ- 
ently of  the  people,  and  ruled,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the 
city  and  its  entire  population,  but  first  of  all  for  their 
own  benefit.  There  was  a  mayor,  a  body  of  aldermen, 
and  a  council.  The  whole  number  was  very  small.  The 
aldermen  chose  the  mayor,  and  filled  all  vacancies  that 
occurred,  by  death  or  otherwise,  in  their  own  number. 
The  people  really  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  govern- 
ment. These  boroughs  had  the  right  to  choose  mem- 
bers of  Parliament,  and  this  important  privilege  usually 
rested  in  the  ruling  oligarchy .^ 

When  Philadelphia  was  chartered  in  1701,  the  condi- 
tion of  English  borough  government  was  even  worse 
than  it  had  been  before.  Penn,  however,  did  not  try  to 
invent  a  new  scheme  of  government,  but  simply  tried 
to  put  in  operation  the  ideas  with  which  he  was  familiar. 

^  There  was  no  difference  between  the  government  of  the  Eng- 
lish city  and  the  government  of  the  borough.  Some  places  were 
called  cities  because  they  were  the  seats  of  archbishops  and  had 
cathedrals  ;  this  distinguished  them  from  the  boroughs.     ^ 

2  The  few  men  who  formed  the  governing  body. 


74    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

So  he  established  a  close  corporation^  to  govern  his 
new  city.  It  was  called  "the  mayor  and  commonalty 
of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,"  ^  and  consisted  of  a  mayor, 
a  recorder,  eight  aldermen,  and  twelve  common  coun- 
cilmen.  The  mayor  was  chosen  each  year  by  the  alder- 
men and  councilmen.  The  recorder,  councilmen,  and 
aldermen  were  appointed  in  the  charter  and  held  office 
for  life.  The  corporation  had  the  right  to  fill  vacan- 
cies. 

Philadelphia  under  the  Charter  of  1789.  This  was 
the  scheme  under  which  the  largest  city  in  the  colonies 
was  governed  until  1789.  Then  there  was  a  change. 
Under  the  close  corporation  the  government  had  been 
wholly  distinct  from  the  people.  The  new  charter 
changed  this.  Fifteen  aldermen  were  to  be  elected 
every  seven  years  by  the  freeholders,  and  thirty  common 
councilmen  every  three  years  by  the  freemen.^  The 
mayor  was  elected  by  the  aldermen  from  their  own  num- 
ber. There  was  a  recorder  chosen  by  the  mayor  and 
aldermen.  The  entire  body,  consisting  of  mayor,  re- 
corder, aldermen,  and  common  councilmen,  sat"  in  com- 
mon council  for  the  purpose  of  legislating  for  the  city. 
So  the  old  oligarchy  was  overthrown  and  the  city  gov- 
ernment was  at  last  representative.  With  a  few  amend- 
ments this  charter  remained  in  force  till  1854. 

The  government  thus  made  up  did,  or  tried  to  do,  the 
numerous  things  that  a  city  requires  to  have  done.  It 
had  a  survey  department  for  the  care  of  the  highways ; 

1  A  close  corporation  is  one  in  which  the  members  have  the 
power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  number.  This  makes  the  body 
self-perpetuating. 

2  Allinson  and  Penrose,  ibid.^  p.  15. 

^  Freemen  of  a  city  are  fully  qualified  citizens ;  freeholders  are 
those  who  absolutely  own,  in  "  fee  simple  "  as  we  say,  some  prop- 
erty like  lots  and  buildings. 


BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND   CHICAGO         75 

there  was  a  department  to  look  after  city  trusts,  like 
the  fund  which  Benjamin  Franklin  left  to  assist  young 
mechanics  to  set  up  in  housekeeping ;  there  was  a  de- 
partment of  city  property,  a  water  department,  a  gas 
department,  a  fire  department ;  departments  for  the  care 
of  the  poor,  for  education,  for  police,  for  finance,  debt, 
and  revenue.  Aside  from  these  regular  departments 
there  were  several  commissions,  like  that  for  the  care  of 
the  public  health.  It  will  be  seen,  from  this  account, 
that  city  government  in  Philadelphia  was  a  very  com- 
plex thing,  even  when  the  city  was  much  smaller  than 
it  is  at  present. 

In  the  police  department  very  primitive  methods  were 
in  use.  The  first  watchman  had  been  appointed  in 
1700.  **  It  was  his  duty  to  go  through  the  city  at  night 
ringing  a  bell,  to  cry  out  the  time  of  the  night  and  the 
state  of  the  weather."  ^  Later  the  city  was  divided  into 
wards,  with  a  constable  placed  over  each,  and  the  citi- 
zens were  required  to  perform  watch  duty.  It  was 
hard  to  get  them  to  do  it,  and  much  laxness  existed. 
Under  the  new  charter  there  was  a  high  constable  who 
had  general  charge  of  police  affairs,  and  control  over 
the  constables  and  the  watch,  who  were  now  paid  for 
their  services.  In  1833  the  city  was  divided  into  four 
police  districts.  In  each  there  was  a  captain  and  a  lieu- 
tenant, twenty-four  policemen,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty 
watchmen.  The  police  served  by  day,  while  the  watch 
served  at  night.  The  force  was  still  inefficient,  and  as 
late  as  1844  a  mob  controlled  the  city.  In  1838  a  mob 
had  burned  Pennsylvania  Hall  while  the  mayor  and  the 
police  stood  by. 

Philadelphia  under  the  Charter  of  1854  and  later 
Charters.  In  1854  Philadelphia  received  a  new  charter. 
1  AUinson  and  Penrose,  ibid.^  p.  26. 


'J^    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

The  old  one  had  failed  to  give  good  results.  The  reason 
was,  as  men  thought,  that  responsibility  was  not  suffi- 
ciently centralized.  The  mayor  had  too  little  power. 
He  had  no  veto,  and  nearly  all  executive  work  was  done 
by  committees  of  the  council.  In  this  manner  responsi- 
bility was  divided  and  effective  government  made  impos- 
sible. There  was  a  great  deal  of  complaint,  especially 
about  the  way  in  which  police  and  financial  affairs  were 
managed.  The  new  charter  gave  the  mayor  the  veto 
power,  and  made  him  the  personal  head  of  the  police 
department.  The  council  appointed  the  heads  of  all 
other  departments,  and  prescribed  their  salaries. 

As  the  charter  of  1789  had  failed  because  it  divided 
responsibility,  so  that  of  1854,  although  in  some  ways 
an  improvement  over  the  earlier  one,  at  last  failed  for 
the  same  reason.  With  thirty-two  different  and  sepa- 
rate departments,  which  had  no  real  head,  there  was 
room  for  all  kinds  of  frauds.  The  councils  which  had 
the  right  of  appointment  became  corrupt ;  the  finances 
were  mismanaged  ;  bribery  was  common ;  in  short,  the 
"  ring  "  rulqd  Philadelphia  with  a  rod  of  iron.  But  in 
1880  a  reform  agitation  began.  The  better  citizens 
organized  a  league  which  fought  the  ring  at  every  point, 
and  finally,  in  1887,  secured  the  new  charter  under 
which  the  city  is  still  governed.  The  main  difference 
between  this  and  the  preceding  charter  lies  in  the  in- 
crease of  power  now  given  to  the  mayor. 

The  Government  of  Chicago :  Charter  of  1833. 
Having  traced  the  history  of  two  cities  giving  us  the 
types  of  municipal  government  which  prevailed  in  colo- 
nial times,  let  us  now  turn  to  one  whose  history  lies 
wholly  within  the  past  century.  The  city  of  Chicago 
has  sprung  up  so  recently  that  many  are  still  living  who 
observed  its  beginnings.     The  first  charter  was  a  gen- 


BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND   CHICAGO        77 

era!  one,  made  for  the  government  of  villages  or  town- 
ships. Chicago  was  incorporated  in  the  year  1833. 
There  was  a  board  of  five  men,  chosen  from  among  the 
freeholders  of  the  village.  They  elected  one  of  their 
number  president.  Thus  organized,  the  government 
had  the  usual  powers  of  village  boards.  It  could  pre- 
vent gambling,  license  shows,  establish  and  regulate 
markets,  construct  and  repair  highways,  etc. 

The  president  had  no  independent  powers.  He  was 
simply  a  presiding  officer.  But  it  was  natural  that  many 
things  should  be  looked  after  by  him  without  consult- 
ing the  board.  He  might,  in  fact,  have  become  a  real 
administrative  head,  had  this  village  government  re- 
mained in  force  longer.  The  president  of  the  village 
board  was  in  germ  the  mayor  of  Chicago.  We  have 
seen  that  there  are  some  governmental  duties  which 
are  executive  and  others  which  are  legislative.  In  the 
village  of  Chicago  these  groups  of  duties  were  not 
clearly  distinguished.  The  real  power  resided  in  the 
board.  It  chose  the  president,  had  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing to  all  executive  offices,  and  had  full  power  of 
legislation. 

Tl^e  Charter  of  1837.  In  1837  Chicago  was  incorpo- 
rated under  a  new  charter.  The  village  organization 
was  given  up,  and  a  city  government  was  established. 
The  members  of  the  board  of  trustees  had  helped  to 
secure  the  new  charter,  and  they  of  course  took  pains  to 
maintain  their  own  power  in  it.  Some  changes,  how- 
ever, were  made  in  the  direction  of  increasing  the 
power  of  the  mayor.  The  board  of  trustees  became 
the  council  of  aldermen,  were  chosen  by  wards,  and 
had  full  legislative  and  appointing  power.  They  also 
had  the  judicial  power  of  justices  of  the  peace  in  their 
respective  wards.     But  the  mayor  was  no  longer  de- 


78     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

pendent  on  the  council  for  his  office  ;  he  was  chosen 
by  the  voters.  Otherwise  his  position  remained  about 
as  it  was  under  the  village  charter.  He  had  no  veto, 
and  no  power  of  appointment.  "The  charter  of  1837 
was  the  government  of  the  council."  ^ 

The  Charters  of  1851  and  1875.  A  new  charter  was 
secured  in  1851.  The  position  of  the  mayor  now  be- 
came vastly  more  dignified  and  important.  He  was 
made  personally  responsible  for  the  proper  execution 
of  all  laws  and  ordinances ;  he  was  required  to  recom- 
mend measures  to  the  council  in  an  annual  message ; 
and  he  had  the  power  to  veto  the  council's  acts.  He 
also  had  the  power  to  appoint  committees  of  the  coun- 
cil, and  in  this  way  exercised  a  great  influence  over 
legislation.  This  charter  was  amended  in  1857  by  giv- 
ing the  mayor  power  to  appoint  and  remove  certain 
important  officers,  thus  for  the  first  time  giving  him 
control  over  a  portion  of  the  executive  departments. 

The  charter  under  which  the  city  of  Chicago  is  now 
governed  was  adopted  in  1875.  The  mayor  is  the  ex- 
ecutive head  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  while  the 
council  is  the  legislature.  In  general,  all  executive  offi- 
cers not  elected  by  the  people  are  appointed  by  the 
mayor  and  are  responsible  to  him.  The  mayor  also  has 
a  veto  over  acts  of  the  council.  The  judiciary  is  an  in- 
dependent body. 

SUMMARY 

The  study  of  these  three  examples,  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
and  Chicago,  brings  out  clearly  the  following  principles 
of  city  government :  (a)  The  legislature  of  a  large  city  must 
be  a  representative  body.     Boston  began  with  a  democratic 

^  S.  E.  Sparling,  Municipal  History  of  Chicago^  Bulletin  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  No.  23,  p.  39. 


BOSTON,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND   CHICAGO        79 

town  meeting,  but  had  to  give  it  up  when  the  population  be- 
came considerable,  because  it  was  impossible  for  so  large  a 
body  of  citizens  to  legislate.  Philadelphia  began  with  a  close 
corporation ;  this  had  to  be  abandoned  because  the  people 
refused  to  be  governed  by  a  body  of  men  who  did  not  repre- 
sent them  and  were  not  bound  to  them  in  interest,  (b)  There 
must  be  a  single  executive,  who  has  independent  powers.  In 
early  Boston  there  were  nine  selectmen,  none  of  whom  was 
definitely  responsible  for  the  running  of  the  municipal  ma- 
chine. In  early  Philadelphia  the  mayor  was  dependent  on 
the  council  for  his  position,  and  had  not  sufficient  independ- 
ent power.  In  Chicago  village  the  president  was  chosen  by 
the  board  and  was  not  independent,  {c)  While  the  legislative 
and  executive  departments  should  be  given  clearly  distinct 
powers,  both  must  be  held  responsible  to  the  people  by  means 
of  frequent  elections,  {d)  Lastly,  we  see  from  the  examples 
above  discussed,  that  the  division  of  powers  between  the 
legislature  and  the  executive  is  one  of  the  most  important 
questions  connected  with  city  government. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   PROBLEM    OF    CITIES 

Review  of  City  Organization.  Before  taking  up  the 
special  problems  to  which  cities  give  rise,  let  us  briefly 
review  the  common  features  of  their  government.  In 
the  first  place  we  find  in  all  cities  the  division  into 
three  departments,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial. 
The  legislative  department  is  called  the  city  council.  It 
has  a  single  chamber  in  most  small  cities  and  two  cham- 
bers in  a  number  of  large  ones.  The  members  of  the 
city  council  are  almost  always  chosen  by  wards,  and 
hold  office  for  one,  two,  or  three  years. 

This  council  usually  has  power : 

(i)  To  pass  ordinances  (city  laws),  either  unrestrained 
or  subject  to  the  mayor's  veto,  which,  however,  a  two 
thirds'  vote  can  overcome.' 

(2)  To  appoint  some  of  the  administrative  officers, 
and  to  confirm  those  appointed  by  the  mayor.^ 

(3)  To  control  taxation  and  expenditure  by  determin- 
ing the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised,  and  making  all 
appropriations. 

1  Such  local  laws  may  have  reference  to  a  great  variety  of  sub- 
jects not  covered  by  the  general  laws  made  by  the  state  legislature. 
For  example,  the  city  council  may  require  all  bicyclists  to  carry 
lanterns  after  dark,  or  may  prevent  the  erection  of  wooden  houses 
on  the  main  business  streets.  It  may  require  sidewalks  to  be  built 
of  asphalt,  or  fix  a  fine  for  fast  driving  on  the  streets. 

2  Sometimes  one  of  the  two  chambers  of  the  city  legislature  has 
the  power  to  confirm  the  appointments  made  by  the  mayor. 


THE    PROBLEM    OF   CITIES  Si 

(4)  To  decide  on  city  improvements,  such  as  the  grad- 
ing and  paving  of  streets,  the  construction  of  public 
buildings,  the  extension  of  sewer  systems,  the  estab- 
lishment and  improvement  of  parks,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  water  and  lighting  plants. 

(5)  To  grant  privileges  to  individuals  or  corporations, 
as,  for  example,  to  give  a  street  railway  company  the 
right  to  ^occupy  certain  streets  for  definite  periods  of 
time.  In  such  cases  the  city  council  determines  how 
much  shall  be  paid  to  the  city  for  the  privilege,  which 
is  called  2i  franchise. 

(6)  To  appoint  committees  of  its  members  to  look 
after  the  several  features  of  the  city  administration :  a 
committee  on  streets,  another  on  public  buildings,  a  third 
on  water  supply,  a  fourth  on  sewerage,  a  fifth  on  trans- 
portation, etc. 

The  executive  department  consists  of  the  mayor  and 
other  administrative  officers  and  boards.  The  mayor  is 
the  executive  head.  He  is  chosen  by  the  direct  vote  of 
the  people  for  a  term  which  varies  from  one  to  five 
years.     He  generally  has  power : 

(i)  To  veto  all  acts  of  the  city  council.  This  veto 
can  usually  be  overcome  by  a  two  thirds'  vote. 

(2)  To  propose  subjects  of  legislation  by  sending  a 
message  to  the  council  or  by  addressing  it  in  person. 

(3)  To  appoint  some  of  the  heads  of  the  administra- 
tive departments,  such  as  the  chief  of  police,  the  street 
commissioner,  and  the  superintendent  of  charities,  and 
to  remove  them  for  cause. 

(4)  To  call  for  reports  from  the  heads  of  departments, 
or  even  to  call  them  together  for  consultation,  as  is  the 
case  in  Boston. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  mayor  has  a  good 
deal  of  influence  over  the  legislature  by  virtue  of  his 


82    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

power  to  execute  or  leave  unexecuted  the  acts  of  the 
council. 

The  judicial  department  of  the  city  consists  of  the 
city  or  police  justices,  and  sometimes  of  superior  judges 
as  well.  The  police  justices  usually  try  minor  offences, 
only  important  cases  being  tried  before  the  superior 
judges,  or  in  the  state  courts.  The  justices  are  sometimes 
appointed,  but  more  often  are  elected  by  the  people. 

Other  officers  generally  elected  are  the  treasurer,  the 
recorder  or  controller,  and  the  city  assessors.  There 
are  also  some  elective  boards,  such  as  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, which  are  largely  independent  of  both  the  mayor 
and  the  council,  but  are  directly  responsible  to  the 
people. 

Why  Cities  are  hard  to  govern.  It  will  be  seen  at 
once  that  the  city  organization,  as  described  above,  is 
not  essentially  different  from  that  of  a  county  or  town- 
ship. In  each  of  these  three  local  governments  we  have 
the  division  into  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  de- 
partments ;  and  the  general  duties  of  the  departments 
are  very  similar.  The  county  board  or  commissioners* 
court  passes  laws  upon  all  matters  of  general  interest 
not  covered  by  the  state  laws.  In  the  township  the 
whole  body  of  voters  makes  up  the  legislature  and 
passes  local  laws.  The  town  board,  as  the  executive 
department,  looks  to  their  execution,  and  has  general 
oversight  of  township  affairs,  much  as  the  mayor  has  in 
the  city.  The  justices  of  the  peace  in  townships  and 
counties  fill  the  same  place  as  the  police  justices  in 
cities. 

In  spite  of  the  similarities  between  city  and  town  or 
county  governments,  the  difficulties  of  the  former  are 
enormously  greater  than  those  of  the  latter.  This  is 
due  to  the  massing  of  a  great  population  within  a  small 


THE   PROBLEM   OF   CITIES  83 

area.  We  think  of  a  township  as  a  district  containing 
about  thirty-six  square  miles,  and  inhabited  by  people 
who  manage  their  own  local  affairs  in  a  town  meeting.^ 
But  there  are  districts  of  thirty-six  square  miles  which 
contain  more  people  than  some  of  our  American  states. 
For  example,  Paris,  with  nearly  three  millions  of  people, 
covers  an  area  a  little  smaller  than  a  surveyor's  town- 
ship. 

The  mere  statement  of  this  fact  is  enough  to  show 
that  Paris  cannot  be  governed  by  the  methods  employed 
in  the  Wisconsin  township.  We  govern  people^  not  ter- 
ritory. Some  one  has  suggested  that  men,  like  corn,  in 
order  to  do  well,  must  be  set  at  certain  distances  apart. 
This  is  not  necessarily  true,  but  it  is  true  that  when 
men  live  scattered  over  a  wide  area  they  require  much 
less  looking  after  than  when  they  jostle  one  another 
roughly  in  the  crowded  streets  and  tenements  of  a  great 
city. 

If  we  think  of  the  conditions  of  life  in  a  farming 
community,  and  compare  them  with  those  of  a  great 
city,  this  fact  becomes  plain.  In  the  country  men  are 
peaceful,  or  if  some  are  disposed  to  be  violent  they 
rarely  have  a  chance  to  do  mischief,  because  they  sel- 
dom come  in  contact  with  men  like  themselves.  Crimes 
are  rare,  and  usually  occur  only  when  men  gather  in 
crowds,  —  a  rare  occurrence  in  the  country.  In  the 
city  there  are  always  crowds,  and  there  are  also  con- 
stantly recurring  outbreaks  of  the  violent  and  vicious 
traits  of  human  nature.  For  this  reason  the  work  of 
protecting  people  from  evil-doers  becomes,  in  the  city, 

1  In  many  cases,  however,  such  districts  have  not  enough  inhab- 
itants to  fill  the  offices  required  by  the  township  organization,  and 
therefore  some  other  means  of  government  must  be  adopted  for 
them. 


84    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

a  business  of  great  magnitude.  The  police  department 
sometimes  contains  thousands  of  men,  organized  on  mil- 
itary principles,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  protection. 

A  fire  on  a  farm  may  destroy  the  home  of  a  family, 
or  at  most  the  house  and  the  farm  buildings ;  but  a  fire 
in  a  city,  unless  it  is  promptly  extinguished,  may  destroy 
property  to  the  amount  of  millions  of  dollars,  and  very 
many  lives  may  be  lost  in  addition.  Therefore,  protec- 
tion against  fire,  which  is  hardly  thought  of  in  the 
country  except  as  a  purely  private  matter,  becomes  in 
the  city  an  important  part  of  the  business  of  govern- 
ment. A  fire  department  must  be  maintained,  with  a 
body  of  trained  men,  horses,  hose  carts,  engines,  etc., 
to  carry  out  this  duty  of  the  city  government. 

Again,  the  matter  of  health  gives  little  concern  to  the 
government  of  a  rural  township  where  people  live  so 
much  scattered  that  there  is  little  danger  of  the  spread 
of  disease  from  one  family  to  another.  But  when  a  case 
of  smallpox  or  scarlet  fever  occurs  in  a  city,  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  people  immediately  take 
alarm ;  for  they  know  that  if  the  infected  persons  are 
not  rigidly  quarantined  the  disease  is  likely  to  sweep 
over  the  entire  city,  causing  great  suffering  and  expense, 
and  perhaps  carrying  off  hundreds  of  victims.  So  there 
must  be  a  department  of  public  health,  which  looks 
after  the  removal  of  such  things  as  are  likely  to  breed 
disease ;  inspects  the  water  and  milk  supply,  and  also 
the  staple  foods  sold  in  the  city ;  makes  regulations 
about  the  disposal  of  the  dead ;  prescribes  rules  for  the 
lighting  of  school-houses  and  for  the  vaccination  of 
school-children,  etc. 

In  the  country  the  supply  of  water  is  wholly  a  pri- 
vate question.  Every  man  gets  his  supply  as  best  he 
can,  by  means  of  wells,  springs,  or  cisterns.     In  the 


THE   PROBLEM   OF  CITIES  85 

city,  health,  protection  against  fire,  and  the  needs  of  the 
sewer  system  would  make  a  city  supply  of  water  abso- 
lutely necessary  even  without  considering  the  economy 
of  such  a  supply  for  private  uses.  Therefore  all  cities 
of  considerable  size  have  a  separate  department  to  look 
after  the  water  supply. 

We  might  mention,  in  addition  to  the  above  cases, 
transportation,  lighting,  street  cleaning  and  sprinkling, 
and  many  other  matters,  which  in  the  country  give  little 
or  no  concern  to  the  local  government,  but  which  are 
of  such  vital  importance  in  every  city  that  they  can- 
not be  safely  left  to  private  arrangements. 

The  Evils  of  City  Government,  The  city  govern- 
ment, therefore,  becomes,  in  comparison  with  town  and 
country  governments,  intensely  active,  extremely  intri- 
cate, and  at  the  same  time  enormously  expensive.  A 
great  city  spends  its  millions  where  a  rural  district 
spends  its  hundreds  of  dollars.  The  men  who  handle 
these  vast  sums  of  money  are  subject  to  very  strong 
temptations,  and  especially  so  since  it  is  easy  to  con- 
ceal frauds  on  account  of  the  complexity  of  city  affairs. 
The  paving  of  streets  offers  a  good  example.  Con- 
tracts involving  many  thousands  of  dollars  are  adver- 
tised by  the  council.  The  business  is  so  profitable  that 
many  men  compete  for  it.  The  dishonest  bidders  are 
sure  to  find  the  dishonest  members  of  the  city  council, 
and  by  their  aid  often  succeed  in  securing  the  con- 
tracts. Then,  by  doing  the  work  poorly  or  by  supply- 
ing cheaper  materials  than  those  agreed  upon,  the  con- 
tractor makes  an  exorbitant  profit,  out  of  which  the 
dishonest  aldermen  claim  their  reward.  The  work  is 
of  so  technical  a  character  that  frauds  are  not  easy  to 
discover,  especially  if  the  committee  in  charge  chooses 
to  hide  them. 


86    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  frauds  are  confined 
to  the  department  of  streets.  Such  opportunities  occur 
in  every  department  of  the  city  government.^  Police 
officers  take  bribes  for  neglecting  to  enforce  the  laws 
against  gamblers  or  liquor  dealers ;  the  committee  on 
lighting  allows  frauds  in  the  supplying  of  gas  to  private 
consumers ;  the  committee  on  public  buildings  makes 
contracts  which  cost  the  city  much  more  than  the  work 
is  worth  ;  the  school  board  is  liable  to  temptation  in  the 
contracts  for  the  supply  of  schoolbooks.  It  is  so  easy, 
where  large  sums  are  involved,  to  divert  a  few  thousands 
to  the  pockets  of  those  having  the  work  in  charge,  that 
even  men  who  are  disposed  to  be  honest  in  their  private 
business  are  liable  to  become  dishonest  when  they  take 
a  part  in  the  management  of  city  affairs.  To  such  an 
extent  have  these  evils  in  city  government  grown  that 
men  have  come  to  look  upon  the  cities  as  the  very 
breeding  places  of  political  corruption  of  all  kinds. 

The  Remedy  for  the  Evils  of  City  Government.  Is 
there  any  remedy  for  this  state  of  things,  or  must  all 
that  has  been  gained  in  the  course  of  many  centuries  of 
progress  be  lost  on  account  of  our  failure  to  govern  the 
great  and  growing  city  populations  ?  Men  will  not  be- 
lieve that  good  government  in  cities  is  an  impossibility  ; 
therefore  they  have  been  trying  to  devise  plans  which 
should  give  better  results  than  those  in  use  heretofore. 
During  the  past  twenty  years  many  new  ideas  have 
been  put  in  operation,  and  some  of  these  offer  at  least 
a  partial  and  temporary  solution  of  the  problem  of 
city  government. 

The  proposed  remedy,  we  may  say  in  general,  is  to 

1  There  is  a  case  on  record  in  which  a  contractor  actually  placed 
wooden  barrels  in  the  ground  instead  of  stone  sewer  pipes,  thus 
robbing  the  city  of  thousands  of  dollars. 


THE   PROBLEM   OF   CITIES  S^^ 

concentrate  power  and  responsibility  in  the  hands  of 
the  mayor.  It  is  said  with  good  reason  that  a  large 
part  of  all  the  frauds,  bargains,  "  boodling  "  schemes, 
and  so  on,  are  due  to  the  fact  that  so  much  of  the  city 
business  has  been  done  by  committees  and  boards.  As 
long  as  this  continues,  responsibility  cannot  easily  be 
fixed  upon  any  one  in  particular.  In  fact,  a  committee 
is  a  device  for  shifting  and  avoiding  responsibility ;  but 
when  a  single  individual  is  directed  to  do  a  piece  of 
work,  men  know  whom  to  blame  if  the  work  is  not 
done,  or  is  done  badly.  All  great  business  concerns 
understand  the  value  of  definitely  placing  responsibil- 
ity ;  they  could  not  succeed  without  it.  The  govern- 
ment of  a  city  resembles,  in  many  respects,  the  manage- 
ment of  a  great  business,  and  therefore  there  should 
be  some  one  upon  whom  the  responsibility  for  its  proper 
management  rests. 

The  gradual  development  of  this  idea  explains  the 
growing  importance  of  the  mayor  in  the  cities  whose 
history  we  have  been  studying.  From  a  position  of 
complete  dependence  upon  the  council,  the  mayor  has 
come  into  a  position  of  real  headship  in  the  city  govern- 
ment. This  is  shown  best  in  the  latest  charters.  In 
Greater  New  York  the  mayor  is  elected  for  the  term  of 
four  years,  and  is  given  a  salary  of  $15,000  per  year. 
He  is  the  absolute  head  of  the  city  administration,  and 
has  practically  a  controlling  influence  in  legislation  as 
well.  If  anything  goes  wrong  in  the  government  of  the 
city  an  attack  is  at  once  made  upon  the  mayor,  for  the 
people  very  properly  feel  that,  having  the  power  to  bring 
the  heads  of  all  departments  to  account,  the  mayor  is 
the  one  to  blame  if  he  allows  wrong  doing  in  any  branch 
of  the  service.  Other  cities  approach  or  equal  the  cen- 
tralization noticed  in  Greater  New  York.     It  is  felt  to  be 


83    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

easier  and  safer,  in  the  present  condition  of  the  public 
mind,  for  the  people  to  try  to  elect  an  honest  and  effi- 
cient mayor,  than  to  try  to  keep  direct  watch  over  the 
numerous  departments  of  a  city  government.  There- 
fore, it  is  urged,  the  mayor  should  be  given  very  full 
powers  and  should  be  held  rigidly  responsible  for  the 
results. 

The  Prospect  for  Improveraent  in  City  Govern- 
ment. It  cannot  be  supposed,  however,  that  any  mere 
device,  important  though  it  be,  will  give  good  govern- 
ment in  cities,  unless  the  citizens  themselves  take  a 
serious  and  active  interest  in  local  affairs.  This  is, 
after  all,  the  only  permanent  remedy  for  the  evils  which 
now  appall  us.  The  people  of  the  cities  are  extremely 
busy  with  their  own  interests.  Most  of  the  time  and 
attention  left  over  for  politics  they  give  to  the  affairs  of 
the  state  or  of  the  nation,  to  the  neglect  of  the  city  in 
which  they  live,  carry  on  business,  raise  their  families, 
and  pay  taxes.  It  is  little  wonder,  therefore,  that  cor- 
rupt officials  find  it  easy  to  hide  their  misdeeds,  or  that 
they  continue  to  rob  and  steal.  Our  citizens  must 
learn  that  each  one  of  them  has  a  responsible  part  to 
play  in  local  as  well  as  in  national  affairs.  They  must 
come  to  feel  that  they  ought  not  to  expect  better  gov- 
ernment than  they  insist  on  having.  So  long  as  local 
politics  is  looked  upon  as  something  to  be  avoided  by 
"respectable"  men,  just  so  long  will  the  non-respectable 
classes  remain  in  control.  If  we  object  to  being  gov- 
erned by  men  of  selfish,  corrupt  characters,  we  have  it 
partly  in  our  power,  as  individuals,  to  secure  the  rule 
of  men  of  right  ideals,  who,  while  following  their  own 
ambitions,  never  lose  sight  of  the  interest  and  the  wel- 
fare of  the  people  whom  they  serve.  Men  must  learn, 
in  short,  that  while  the  right  to  take  part  in  a  "  govern- 


THE   PROBLEM   OF   CITIES  89 

ment  by  the  people  "  is  indQQd  a.  prwz/e^^e,  it  carries  with 
it,  at  the  same  time,  heavy  responsibilities. 

In  order  to  arouse  public  interest  and  to  instruct  the 
people  in  the  mysteries  of  city  administration,  there  has 
recently  been  a  great  movement  toward  the  formation  of 
good  government  clubs,  municipal  leagues,  etc.  It  is 
too  early  to  make  predictions,  but  it  seems  as  though  all 
this  agitation  ought  to  bring  about  a  new  era  for  the 
cities  of  America.^  At  any  rate,  thousands  of  people  are 
now  thinking  very  seriously  about  the  great  problems 
which  affect  our  cities,  where  an  increasing  proportion 
of  the  people  are  yearly  finding  homes.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  outcome  will  be  the  final  solution  of  many 
of  these  problems,  and  the  placing  of  city  government 
upon  a  plane  where  it  will  no  longer  be  a  threat  and  a 
reproach  to  a  civilized  nation. 

SUMMARY 

The  government  of  the  city  is  not  essentially  different  in 
form  from  that  of  the  township  or  the  county.  There  is  in 
each  of  these  local  units  the  division  into  three  departments  ; 
there  is  also  much  similarity  in  the  work  of  corresponding  de- 
partments in  the  city,  the  township,  and  the  county.  But  on 
account  of  the  massing  of  population,  cities  are  incom- 
parably more  difficult  to  govern  than  rural  townships  or 
counties.  Cities  have  to  do  many  more  things  for  their  in- 
habitants, and  these  things  are  enormously  expensive.  City 
officers,  therefore,  have  the  handling  of  vast  sums  of  money, 
and  this  is  spent  in  so  many  and  such  hidden  ways  that  it 
is  not  easy  to  keep  watch  of  expenditures.  There  is  in  con- 
sequence a  great  temptation  to  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  all 
who  have  to  do  with  city  administration.     As  a  remedy  it  is 

^  The  cities  of  Europe  are  admirably  governed,  for  the  most 
part,  and  corruption  is  rare  in  them.  On  conditions  which  explain 
the  difference,  see  Bryce,  i.  620-624. 


90    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

proposed  to  place  much  power  in  the  hands  of  the  mayor, 
who  is  also  to  be  held  strictly  responsible  for  the  manage- 
ment of  city  affairs  ;  but  the  active  interest  of  the  citizens 
themselves  is  the  only  permanent  remedy,  and  this  is  now 
being  aroused. 


OUTLINE 

FOR  STUDYING  THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   A   CITY 

1.  The  City  Legislature. 

a.  If  it  has  two  chambers,  learn  the  official  name  of  each  ;  also 
learn  the  name  of  the  legislature  as  a  whole. 

b.  The  members ;  how  are  they  chosen,  for  how  long,  what  quali- 
fications must  they  have,  and  what  salary  do  they  receive .? 

c.  On  what  subjects  may  it  pass  ordinances,  and  for  what  pur- 
poses may  it  levy  taxes  ? 

d.  What  power  does  it  have  to  make  contracts  for  city  improve- 
ments, or  to  grant  franchises  to  corporations? 

e.  What  powers  of  appointment  or  confirmation  of  appointments 
does  it  possess  ?  Compare  its  powers  in  this  respect  with  those  of 
the  mayor. 

f.  What  other  means  of  control  does  the  legislature  have  over 
the  administrative  departments,  such  as  the  department  of  streets 
or  public  buildings,  and  how  does  it  exercise  such  control  ? 

g.  Describe  any  means  of  control  that  the  legislature  has  over 
the  mayor. 

2.  The  City  Executive. 

a.  What  is  the  mayor's  term  of  office  ;  what  qualifications  must 
he  have,  and  what  salary  does  he  receive  ? 

b.  What  are  his  general  duties  as  head  of  the  city  govern- 
ment ? 

c.  Describe  all  the  ways  in  which  the  mayor  may  influence  or 
control  city  legislation. 

d.  Make  a  list  of  all  the  officers  and  boards  appointed  by  the 
mayor  alone ;  all  who  are  appointed  by  the  mayor  with  the  consent 
of  the  council ;  and  all  who  are  independent  of  both  mayor  and 
council  in  their  appointment. 

e.  In  connection  with  the  above  list,  note  the  main  duties  of 
each  head  of  a  department,  whether  an  individual  or  a  board. 


92    GOVERNMENT  OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

3.  Classify  the  judicial  officers  of  the  city  according  to  the  man- 
ner of  their  appointment,  and  indicate  the  classes  of  cases  over 
which  each  class  of  judges  has  jurisdiction. 

SUGGESTIONS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Was  there  any  connection  between  the  colonial  commerce 
with  the  West  Indies  and  the  development  of  the  slave  trade  ?  See 
Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union^  p.  39. 

2.  Name  the  inventions,  English  and  American,  which  had  most 
influence  on  manufactures.  What  was  the  relation  between  the 
cotton  gin  and  westward  expansion  } 

3.  What  special  influence  has  the  large  foreign  immigration  had 
upon  the  government  of  cities  ? 

4.  Compare  the  Boston  town  meeting  of  1820  with  the  town 
meeting  in  Castle  Rock  town,  described  on  pages  38-41,  and  point 
out  any  differences  you  may  notice. 

5.  By  what  authority  are  city  charters  granted  ?  May  they  be 
changed  at  any  time  by  the  same  authority,  or  not  ?  Describe  the 
usual  method  of  securing  a  city  charter  in  your  state. 

6.  Some  cities  have  a  council  of  a  single  chamber,  while  some 
have  a  two-chambered  council.  What  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages are  connected  with  each  of  these  systems  ? 

7.  Point  out  the  benefits  and  the  evils  of  the  ward  system  of 
choosing  aldermen.  Would  the  general  ticket  plan  be  better,  and 
if  so  why  ? 

8.  What  reasons  can  you  give  for  the  fact  that  state  legislatures 
are  very  rarely  charged  with  corruption,  while  city  councils  are 
often  charged  with  it  ? 

9.  Is  a  city  charter  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  a  small 
town  of  say  2000  people  ?  Write  out  all  the  arguments  in  favor  of 
and  against  direct  government  for  such  towns.  How  would  a  town 
meeting  work  in  these  small  towns  ? 

10.  What  is  the  effect  of  divided  responsibility  in  the  manage- 
ment of  a  school,  a  store,  or  other  business  enterprise  "i  Give  illus- 
trations coming  under  your  own  observation. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  COLONY  INTO  THE  STATE 

The  Early  Colonies.  The  colonies  began  in  a  very 
small  way.  Only  one  hundred  passengers  started  with 
the  Mayflower  for  America,  and  not  all  of  these  reached 
their  destination.  John  Winthrop  brought  a  larger  num- 
ber with  him,  but  still  they  seem  a  small  nucleus  for  a 
great  state.  The  same  was  true  of  the  other  colonies. 
Each  started  as  a  single  small  town,  or  at  most  a  few 
small  towns  ;  so  that  the  word  "colony  "  does  not  have 
quite  the  same  meaning  when  used  in  connection  with 
the  first  years  of  Massachusetts  or  Virginia  that  it  has 
for  later  years.  The  English  called  these  early  settle- 
ments "plantations."  The  word  "colony"  in  time  lost 
its  original  meaning.  When  we  read  or  use  it  in  con- 
nection with  the  Revolution,  it  means  to  us  a  large 
collection  of  towns  and  counties  bound  together  as  a 
unit,  and  not  differing  in  the  least  material  way  from 
the  same  collection  of  towns  and  counties  that  became 
a  state  by  separation  from  Great  Britain.  This  develop- 
ment in  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  colony  "  illustrates 
clearly  the  development  of  the  colony  itself. 

Character  of  the  New  England  Colonies.  Shortly 
before  the  age  of  colonization  in  England,  the  Puritan 
movement  began,  aiming  to  purify  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Many  of  those  who  took  part  in  this  movement 
were  not  content  merely  to  purify  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land of  practices  that  all  felt  to  be  wrong,  but  wanted 


94      GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

to  do  away  with  the  ritual  of  the  church  and  its  form  of 
government,  with  bishops,  archbishops,  and  clergy.  They 
thought  that  if  men  were  equal  before  God,  then  no 
one  ought  to  have  more  power  than  another  in  the 
church.  They  therefore  separated  themselves  and  formed 
churches  where  all  had  an  equal  voice  in  the  government. 
These  were  the  people  who  founded  New  England. 

Before  they  left  England  persecution  had  driven  from 
the  Puritan  churches  the  time-serving  and  weaker 
spirits.  When  they  concluded  to  emigrate,  they  went 
practically  in  a  body,  and  it  was  a  removal,  not  of 
colonies,  but  of  churches  or  congregations  with  the 
minister  at  the  head.  Each  congregation  settled  by 
itself  and  made  its  own  town,  and  it  was  natural  that 
this  should  receive  an  old  English  name.  When  they 
found  a  place  to  suit  them  in  the  wilderness,  some 
local  government  was  necessary.  What  kind  of  govern- 
ment should  they  take  up  ?  The  kind  they  were  using 
all  the  time  in  the  church,  to  be  sure ;  and  that  was  as 
pure  a  democracy  as  was  ever  known.  It  was  the  demo- 
cratic form  of  church  government  that  gave  demo- 
cratic form  to  political  government  in  the  New  England 
towns.  The  same  body  of  men  who  voted  in  the  church 
meeting  voted  also  in  the  town  meeting,  and  the  two 
methods  of  government  were  the  same.  We  must  not 
be  deceived  by  the  fact  that  the  people  who  came  with 
John  Winthrop  to  Boston  were  not  separatists  in  Eng- 
land. When  they  reached  America,  circumstances  led 
them  to  take  up  the  democratic  form  of  church  govern- 
ment, and  with  it  went  the  democratic  town  meeting. 

Increase  in  the  Number  of  Towns. ^  As  the  people 
in    these    town    republics    increased    in   number   they 

1  See  Fiske,  History  of  the  United  States^  pp.  91,  93,  95,  100, 
102,  105. 


FROM   COLONY   TO   STATE  95 

swarmed,  as  it  were,  and  "almost  every  town  became 
the  prolific  mother  of  towns."  ^  Plymouth  began  with 
one  town  in  1620,  and  by  1670  it  had  twenty  towns  with 
eight  thousand  people.  In  Virginia,  by  16 19,  there 
were  eleven  boroughs  with  four  thousand  people ;  and 
in  Rhode  Island  and  other  places  the  building  of  sepa- 
rate towns  went  on.  Soon  the  towns  situated  somewhat 
near  together  began  to  unite  for  greater  protection.  The 
union  was  at  first  a  very  loose  one,  hardly  more  than  a 
league  of  towns.  In  New  Haven,  in  1641,  several  towns 
formed,  with  the  town  of  New  Haven,  a  sort  of  federal 
union  sometimes  called  The  Republic  of  New  Haven. 
The  latter  was  finally  incorporated  in  Connecticut  as 
was  Plymouth  in  Massachusetts.  Portsmouth,  Provi- 
dence, and  Newport  became  Rhode  Island,  and  so  the 
process  of  union  went  on. 

Development  of  Southern  Colonies.  The  case  of 
Virginia  and  the  South  was  very  different.  The  causes 
of  settlement  there  were  not  the  same  as  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  soil  was  very  different ;  so  was  the  climate. 
The  abundance  of  deep  navigable  streams  leading  into 
the  interior  had  a  marked  effect.  These  and  other 
causes  noted  elsewhere  led  to  a  great  spreading  of  pop- 
ulation, although  Virginia  people  expected  to  build 
towns.  The  plantation  style  of  settlement  made  each 
plantation  a  sort  of  town  in  itself.  The  spreading  of 
population  did  not  lead  to  the  founding  of  separate  and 
independent  local  units  as  in  New  England.  The  small 
population  in  any  one  locality  and  the  lack  of  towns 
made  a  town  meeting  unnecessary.  The  idea  of  the 
colony  as  a  whole  was  emphasized,  and  this  emphasis 
increased  with  the  growth  of  the  colony  into  a  state, 
and  partly,  at  least,  accounts  for  the  strong  state  feel- 
^  Woodrow  Wilson,  The  State,  p.  440. 


96    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

ing  in  Virginia  and  the  South  in  later  years.  In  some 
such  way  as  this  the  small  isolated  towns  grew  by 
degrees  into  the  colonies  of  the  revolutionary  period. 

Government  of  Colonies.^  In  the  matter  of  govern- 
ment, the  early  colonies  were  to  a  large  degree  experi- 
ments. There  was  no  form  of  colonial  government  that 
all  agreed  to  be  wisest  and  best.  Each  colony  tried  its 
own  way  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  colonists  them- 
selves, or  of  the  company  or  the  proprietor  who  founded 
the  colony.  Some  colonies  combined  parts  of  two 
methods  of  government,  and  as  time  went  by  nearly 
all  the  colonies  came  to  have  the  kind  in  which  the 
king,  or  some  proprietor  to  whom  the  king  granted  the 
territory,  had  a  large  share  of  power.  This  illustrates 
again  the  fact  that  government  cannot  be  made  be- 
forehand, as  the  great  philosopher,  John  Locke,  found 
in  connection  with  the  Carolinas.^  Roughly  speaking, 
three  ways  of  carrying  on  the  business  and  government 
of  the  colonies  were  tried.  These  ways  were  not  always 
very  distinct  from  one  another,  and  when  we  begin  to 
study  them  we  may  be  a  little  confused  at  first  on  this 
account. 

The  three  methods  were  first,  royal ;  second,  proprie- 
tary ;  and  third,  charter  government. 

Royal  Colonies.  Many  of  those  that  afterwards  prac- 
tically became  royal  colonies  were  at  first  colonies  of  a 
different  kind.  Thus,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  which  at  the  time  of 

^  See,  on  this  topic,  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  pp.  13-16; 
and  Thwaite,  The  Colonies,  pp.  58-63. 

2  Locke's  constitution,  the  "  Grand  Model,"  provided  for  an  aris- 
tocracy with  hereditary  titles  ;  and  the  colony  was  to  be  divided  up 
into  estates  of  greater  or  less  extent  to  suit  the  rank  of  the  classes 
of  nobles. 


FROM   COLONY   TO    STATE  97 

the  Revolution  were  royal  colonies,  were  at  first  pro- 
prietary colonies.  The  thing  that  made  one  kind  of 
government  differ  from  another  was  in  the  main  the 
extent  to  which  the  people  of  the  colonies  could  govern 
themselves.  Nowadays  we  take  it  for  granted  that  we 
should  elect  our  own  governors.  Not  every  colony, 
however,  had  that  power.  In  the  royal  colonies  the 
governor  was  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  thus  was 
the  agent  of  the  king  to  look  after  his  interests.  The 
king  could  easily  use  the  governor  in  trying  to  control 
the  people  of  the  colony.  Then  the  governor  had  a 
council  to  assist  him,  which  was  often  appointed  by  the 
crown,  and  was  generally  in  sympathy  with  the  gov- 
ernor. The  council  was  of  great  assistance  to  him, 
because  in  most  colonies  it  had  a  part  in  the  making  of 
laws.  It  might  have  gone  hard  with  the  liberties  of  the 
colonies  if  there  had  been  no  check  upon  the  power  of 
the  governor  and  his  council. 

Power  of  the  Governor  limited  by  a  Representative 
Assembly.^  Even  in  the  royal  colonies  there  was  a 
representative  assembly  elected  by  the  people  to  make 
laws  and  to  represent  them  in  the  government.  These 
assemblies  claimed  and  exercised  power  over  taxation 
and  all  public  expenditures,  and  therefore  the  governor 
was  dependent  upon  them  for  the  payment  of  his  salary. 
Nor  could  he  begin  any  undertaking  of  importance  or 
carry  on  the  government  unless  they  would  furnish  him 
the  necessary  means  by  taxation.  He  was  at  their 
mercy,  and  if  he  took  away  any  of  their  rights  and  liber- 
ties, even  by  the  express  orders  of  the  king,  they  could 
compel  him  to  redress  their  grievances  by  withhold- 
ing his  very  living  expenses.  Where  did  they  get  this 
idea  of  controlling  taxation  ?     Was  it  anything  new  ? 

^  See  Fisher,  T/ie  Colonial  Era,  pp.  208,  209  ;  also  pp.  233,  234. 


98    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

By  no  means ;  it  had  been  handed  down  from  generation 
to  generation  through  many  a  century  of  toil  and  con- 
flict, and  for  it  many  a  good  man  had  lost  his  hfe.  It 
is  one  of  those  precious  legacies  of  liberty  which  we 
owe  to  the  sturdy  independence  of  our  ancestors.  It 
has  more  than  once  saved  to  the  English  people  those 
powers  of  self-government  and  political  activity  that 
have  made  them  in  our  time  the  dominant  race  in  the 
world. 

Proprietary  Colonies.  The  English  kings,  after  the 
Cabots  discovered  the  coast  of  North  America,  claimed 
that  the  territory  belonged  to  the  king  and  not  to  Eng- 
land. Therefore  after  the  two  great  companies  formed 
to  colonize  the  new  world  had  given  up  their  charters, 
the  crown  began  to  give  its  favorites  large  and  valuable 
tracts  of  land.  With  the  grants  went  powers  of  govern- 
ment and  control  that  made  the  proprietors  largely  in- 
dependent. Such  were  the  grants  of  Maryland  to  Lord 
Baltimore  by  Charles  I.,  Pennsylvania  to  William  Penn 
by  Charles  IL,  and  the  Carolinas  to  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  favorites,  also  by  Charles  II.  When  New  Neth- 
erland  was  taken  from  the  Dutch  in  1664,  Charles  II. 
gave  it  to  his  brother  the  Duke  of  York ;  it  remained 
a  proprietary  colony,  called  New  York,  till  the  duke  was 
made  king,  when  it  became  a  royal  colony. 

In  a  proprietary  colony  the  governor  was  appointed 
by  the  proprietor  and  acted  as  his  agent  and  naturally 
cared  for  his  interests.  He  also  had  a  council,  which  in 
most  cases  became  the  upper  house  of  the  colonial  legis- 
lature, a  body  resembhng  our  Senate.  The  most  interest- 
ing of  the  proprietary  colonies  was  Maryland,  because  it 
was  fashioned  after  the  model  of  the  counties  palatine 
in  England.  England,  as  well  as  the  United  States,  had 
its  frontier.    Several  counties  had  the  duty  of  defending 


FROM   COLONY   TO   STATE  99 

the  border  country  in  the  north  and  west  of  England, 
and  the  coast  in  the  south.  The  earls  of  Chester  and 
the  bishops  of  Durham  among  others  were  given  almost 
royal  power  on  this  account.  The  name  itself,  "palace 
counties,"  gives  the  idea  of  royalty.  In  the  time  of 
Charles  I.  the  county  palatine  of  Durham  still  remained, 
and  the  government  of  Maryland  was  fashioned  after  it. 
Lord  Baltimore  was  a  sort  of  feudal  king,  and  was  abso- 
lute lord  of  the  land  and  water  within  his  boundaries. 
I  When  Charles  II.  granted  Pennsylvania  to  William 
Penn  as  proprietor,  he  was  not  so  lavish  as  his  father  in 
the  powers  bestowed.  In  both  Maryland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania the  proprietorship  was  to  be  hereditary,  in  the 
Calvert  and  Penn  families  respectively.  In  Pennsylva- 
nia the  council  did  not  take  part  in  legislation,  and  the 
legislature  had  but  one  house.  However,  the  people 
were  represented  in  the  government  by  choosing  the 
legislature,  and  they  gradually  absorbed  nearly  all  the 
power  into  their  own  hands.  The  proprietary  govern- 
ment  was  not  a  success.  In  the  CaroHnas  the  elaborate, 
ready-made  government  was  worse  than  useless,  and  in 
Maryland  it  was  impossible  to  implant  the  wornout  feu- 
dal system  ^  in  virgin  soil.  In  Pennsylvania  there  was 
an  unending  quarrel  between  the  proprietors  and  the 
people.  The  people  found  it  more  to  their  advantage 
to  deal  with  the  crown  and  its  governors,  and  only  three 
proprietary  colonies  remained  when  the  Revolution 
broke  out,  —  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland. 

Charter  Colonies.  We  have  seen  in  the  first  chapter 
of  this  book  that  long  before  the  first  American  colony 

1  A  system  of  landholding  in  mediaeval  times,  by  which  the  ten- 
ant received  the  use  of  land  from  the  lord  in  return  for  helping  the 
lord  as  a  soldier  in  war.  There  grew  up  also  a  system  of  govern- 
ment and  society  suited  to  the  land  system. 


lOO    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

was  settled,  the  king  began  to  grant  charters  to  various 
towns  in  England.  The  charter  was  merely  a  writing 
telling  how  many  and  what  things  the  town  could  do 
in  the  way  of  governing  itself.  The  towns  practically" 
bought  the  privileges  named  in  the  charter,  and  paid  for 
them  by  voting  the  king  money  of  which  he  was  in  need. 
The  king  got  in  the  habit  of  putting  down  in  writing 
(charters)  the  privileges  and  powers  that  he  granted 
to  companies  or  individuals  as  well  as  towns.  When 
the  two  great  companies,  London  and  Plymouth,  were 
formed  to  found  settlements  in  America  (1606)  they  re- 
ceived charters  from  the  king.  Lord  Baltimore  also 
received  a  charter ;  so  did  Penn.  So  did  Massachusetts 
Bay,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut.  So,  in  substance, 
did  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  New  Hampshire.  There- 
fore, in  one  sense,  nearly  all  the  colonies  started  with 
charters.  But  when  we  speak  of  "  charter  or  republican 
colonies,"  only  those  are  meant  which  were  republican 
in  form  of  government ;  that  is,  those  which  had  prac- 
tically complete  self-governnrent.  These  are  often  given 
as  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut.  But 
Massachusetts  lost  its  republican  form  when  it  lost  its 
power  of  electing  its  own  governor,  in  1684.  It  is  there- 
fore called  by  some  a  "  semi-royal "  colony.  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  kept  their  charters.  So  well 
adapted  were  the  charters  to  the  needs  of  the  people 
that  even  after  there  ceased  to  be  any  king  in  America 
these  colonies  made  use  of  their  charters,  Connecticut 
until  18 18,  Rhode  Island  until  1842. 

Governraent  of  Colonies  like  and  unlike  that  of  Eng- 
land. It  is  important  that  we  get  clearly  in  our  minds 
the  fact  that  the  colonists  followed  the  model  of  the  form 
of  government  they  were  accustomed  to.  When  they 
settled  separate  towns  and  began  self-government  in  the 


FROM    COLONY   TO   STATE^  •'    '- ^"  ' '>  lOi 

democratic  town  meeting,  they  still  counted  themselves 
Englishmen.  They  still  thought  of  James  I.  or  Charles 
I.  as  their  king,  but  they  thought  of  the  General  Court, 
or  the  Assembly,  or  the  House  of  Burgesses,  as  their 
Parliament.  They  were  familiar  with  a  king  and  with 
a  Parliament  made  up  of  two  bodies.  It  naturally  fol- 
lowed that  in  the  new  world  the  same  thing  in  substance 
grew  up.  The  governor  stood  in  the  place  of  the  king. 
His  council  formed  one  house  of  the  colonial  parliament 
and  the  Assembly  the  other. 

Supremacy  of  Parliament.  The  colonies  did  not 
recognize  the  supremacy  of  the  English  Parliament, 
except  in  matters  of  commerce.  The  king,  as  long  as 
he  was  practically  independent  of  Parliament,  did  not 
care  to  have  them  do  so.  He  desired  to  control  them 
as  his  own  personal  property.  But  after  James  H.  was 
expelled  from  the  English  throne  (1688),  Parliament  was 
supreme  in  England,  and  began  to  claim  supremacy 
over  the  colonies  too.  So  the  feeling  about  the  relation 
of  the  colonies  changed  in  England.  But  it  did  not 
change  in  America.  We  find  Thomas  Jefferson,  just 
before  the  Revolution,  vigorously  denying,  in  his  "  Sum- 
mary View  of  the  Rights  of  the  Colonies,"  that  ParUa- 
ment  had  any  authority  even  in  matters  of  commerce. 
The  idea  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  before  1707 
England  and  Scotland  had  the  same  king,  but  separate 
Parliaments.  The  colonies,  therefore,  looked  upon  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  and  the 
rest,  as  fifteen  divisions  of  an  empire  having  the  same 
king,  but  independent  parhaments. 

Colonial  Ideas  about  Taxation.  It  followed,  of 
course,  that  the  parliament  of  Massachusetts  could  not 
tax  the  people  of  England,  nor  could  the  Parliament  of 
England  tax  the  people  of  Massachusetts.     This  belief 


102     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

emphasized  in  men's  minds  the  separateness  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  greatly  increased  the  difficulty  of  union.  It 
grew  stronger  and  stronger  as  the  crisis  of  the  war 
drew  near,  because  it  was  the  theory  upon  which  was 
based  their  resistance  to  the  acts  of  Parliament.  Even 
after  independence  was  acknowledged,  the  same  idea  of 
the  necessary  separateness  of  the  states  nearly  wrecked 
the  new  government,  and  it  bade  fair  to  throw  away  the 
results  of  the  war. 

Temporary  War  Governments.^  At  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  the  royal  governors  either  were  driven  out  or 
fled  of  their  own  accord.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  the 
case  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  which  elected 
their  own  governors.  They  went  on  as  before.  But 
the  royal  colonies  were  left  without  any  chief  execu- 
tive head,  and  the  machinery  of  government  stood  still. 
There  was  no  change,  however,  in  any  of  the  colonies 
as  to  their  attitude  toward  the  mother  country.  They 
still  counted  themselves  Englishmen.  They  still  looked 
upon  George  III.  as  their  king.  They  still  looked  upon 
the  colonial  legislatures  as  their  parliaments.  But  they 
could  not  ignore  the  fact  that  new  arrangements  for  a 
government  were  necessary  in  most  of  the  colonies. 
The  assembly  of  Massachusetts  took  matters  into  its 
own  hands  early.  While  Gage  was  still  governor,  it 
met  and  organized  itself  into  a  provincial  congress,  with 
John  Hancock  as  president.  In  New  York,  the  colonial 
committee  of  correspondence  urged  upon  the  county 
committees  a  provincial  congress  in  much  the  same 
fashion,  and  gave  to  committees  of  safety  the  powers  of 
government.  But  all  these  arrangements  were  merely 
temporary,  and  the  people  were  very  uneasy  on  account 
of  the  unsettled  state  of  their  governments.  In  this 
^  See  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  pp.  80-82. 


FROM   COLONY   TO   STATE  IO3 

crisis  they  turned  for  advice  to  the  second  Continental 
Congress,  which  represented  the  greatest  dignity  and 
authority  then  in  the  colonies.  Massachusetts  was  ad- 
vised to  go  back  to  its  charter  and  proceed  under  it  with- 
out a  governor  till  the  trouble  was  settled.  There  was 
no  charter  in  New  Hampshire,  and  the  provincial  con- 
gress was  advised  to  call  a  "  Free  Representative " 
(convention  of  representatives)  to  establish  such  form  of 
government  as  would  best  secure  the  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  the  people.  This  government,  also,  was  to  last 
only  until  the  trouble  was  settled.  Similar  advice  was 
given  to  South  Carolina  and  Virginia.  The  New  Hamp- 
shire convention  was  elected,  and  assumed  the  authority 
of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature.  It,  in  turn,  elected 
a  council  which  became  the  upper  house,  and  was  to  be, 
thereafter,  elected  by  the  people.  Part  of  the  time  the 
legislature  exercised  the  power  belonging  before  to  the 
governor,  and  part  of  the  time  the  committee  of  safety 
exercised  it.  Still,  New  Hampshire  and  most  of  the 
other  colonies  had  no  constitution. 

Permanent  State  Constitutions.  The  lack  of  written 
constitutions  kept  the  people  restless  in  the  uncertain 
condition  of  affairs.  Thomas  Paine  had  written  his 
pamphlet  called  "  Common  Sense,"  ^  in  which  he  set 
forth  plainly  the  absurdity  of  the  existing  relation  of 

1  Published  in  January,  1776,  at  Philadelphia.  Its  closing  para- 
graph is  famous :  — 

"  Freedom  hath  been  hunted  round  the  globe.  Asia  and  Africa 
have  long  expelled  her.  Europe  regards  her  like  a  stranger ;  and 
England  hath  given  her  warning  to  depart.  O,  receive  the  fugi- 
tive ;  and  prepare  in  time  an  asylum  for  mankind." 

Paine  also  wrote,  while  a  private  soldier  in  Washington's  camp,  a 
pamphlet  called  "  The  Crisis."  Its  opening  passage  is  still  more 
famous  than  the  above  :  — 

"  These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls." 


104     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

the  colonies  to  England,  and  showed  the  necessity 
of  independence.  July  4,  1776,  independence  was  pro- 
claimed. Meantime,  in  May,  1776,  Congress  advised 
the  states  to  form  permanent  governments.  With  the 
exception  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  they  com- 
plied, and  drew  up  constitutions.  Virginia  was  one  of 
the  first  to  act,  and  adopted  its  state  constitution  in 
June,  1776;  Massachusetts  dropped  its  charter  and 
adopted  a  constitution  in  1780;  and  other  states  fol- 
lowed their  example. 

The  colonies  of  the  early  days  had  thus  developed 
into  states  whose  aggregate  population  in  1776  was  two 
million  five  hundred  thousand.  These  states,  by  1783, 
were  able  to  wrest  their  independence  from  Great 
Britain. 

Colonies  and  States.^  In  granting  territory  to  indi- 
viduals and  companies,  the  crown  also  granted  powers 
of  government  over  each  colony.  If  the  king  had  not 
granted  this  land  and  these  powers  of  government,  no 
colony  could  legally  have  been  planted  in  America.  The 
colonies,  therefore,  were  bound  to  the  mother  country 
as  the  source  of  all  their  political  powers.  They 
were  dependent  political  organizations.  When  we  see 
the  word  "•  colony  "  in  print,  we  at  once  ask,  "  Whose 
colony ;  the  colony  of  what  nation  } "  A  colony  is  a 
body  of  people  belonging  to  some  nation,  but  distant 
from  the  mother  country.  There  is  physical  separa- 
tion, but  so  long  as  a  group  of  people  remains  a  colony, 
it  remains  politically  connected  with  the  mother  coun- 
try. 

When  the  political  connection  ceases,  the  group  of 
persons  becomes  something  else  than  a  colony.  So, 
when  on  July  4,  1776,  Jefferson,  Franklin,  and  the  other 
1  See  Bryce,  i.  15-18. 


FROM   COLONY   TO   STATE  105 

American  patriots  declared  that  "all  political  connec- 
tion between  the  colonies  and  the  state  of  Great  Brit- 
ain "  had  come  to  an  end,  they  had  to  declare  what  the 
former  colonies  had  now  become.  This  they  did  in  the 
words,  "  These  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  free  and  independent  states!' 

A  state  is  naturally  "  free  and  independent."  Just  as 
the  word  "  colony  "  means  a  depe^ident  body  of  people, 
so  the  word  "  state  "  means  a  body  of  people  politically 
independent.  It  is  hard  for  Americans  of  to-day  to 
grasp  the  meaning  usually  given  to  the  word  "  state," 
because  with  us  it  has  come  to  mean  something  else. 
In  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Great  Britain  is 
spoken  of  as  a  state  —  "  the  state  of  Great  Britain."  So 
she  is  to-day.  So  is  France  a  state ;  so  are  Holland, 
Prussia,  Sweden,  Spain,  Italy,  and  Austria.  All  of  these 
are  states  in  the  sense  in  which  Jefferson  understood  the 
word  in  1776,  and  in  which  all  Europeans  understand  it 
to-day.  "  The  state  of  Great  Britain,"  ''  the  British  Na- 
tion," "  the  British  Government,"  are  all  used  as  syn- 
onymous terms.  They  indicate  a  body  of  people  which 
politically  does  not  receive  orders  from  any  other  body 
of  people  anywhere  in  the  world.  It  is  a  sovereign  ^ 
state.  It  can  make  such  a  form  of  government  as  it 
chooses  ;  it  can  make  all  laws  needed  to  secure  peace 
and  quiet  within  ;  or  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
country.  It  may  keep  an  army  and  a  navy,  and  may  use 
both  against  any  other  state.  It  may  and  does  enjoy  all 
rights  which  states  have  under  the  so-called  "  interna- 
tional law." 

Thus   when   Congress    declared  the   colonies   to   be 

1  This  word  is  used  to  indicate  that  the  state  has  full  power  to 
do  all  things.  But  in  America  the  so-called  "  sovereign  states " 
cannot  do  all  things. 


I06    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

"free  and  independent  states''  it  would  naturally  mean 
that  Virginia  was  to  be  considered  from  .that  time 
forth  as  the  political  equal  of  France  or  Sweden ;  that 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island  were 
each  as  fully  sovereign  as  was  England  herself,  or  Spain, 
or  Holland.  This  is  the  theory  of  statehood.  Had  this 
theory  been  fully  carried  out,  the  state  in  which  we  live 
might  to-day  be  carrying  on  a  war  with  its  neighbor  in 
the  north,  or  on  the  east,  west,  or  south,  as  the  states 
of  Europe  all  stand  ready  to  do  at  a  moment's  notice. 
But  this  is  not  the  idea  of  the  American  "  state."  The 
American  "state"  lacks  some  of  the  powers  belonging 
to  states  like  France,  Russia,  or  Great  Britain.  It  has 
never  fully  exercised  power  over  external  affairs,  mak- 
ing war  and  peace,  entering  into  alliances  and  so  on, 
—  power  which  a  sovereign  state  must  have. 

The  body  that  declared  the  colonies  to  be  states,  the 
Continental  Congress,  held  the  power  of  doing  some  of 
these  things  for  all  of  them.  In  other  words,  with  re- 
spect to  the  outside  world,  the  thirteen  states  from  the 
first  acted  as  a  single  state.  So  that  as  an  historical  fact, 
there  has  never  been  a  completely  independent  Virginia, 
or  Massachusetts,  or  New  York.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  nation  has  become  so  great,  so  powerful  and  im- 
portant, that  we  think  of  it  as  having  all  power  and  as 
giving  the  states  whatever  powers  they  possess.  But 
historically  the  states  came  first.  They  have  always 
exercised  the  internal  powers  possessed  by  sovereign 
states,  and  they  created  the  nation  by  giving  to  it  a  por- 
tion of  the  powers  which  they  as  free  states  possessed. 


FROM   COLONY   TO   STATE  10/ 


SUMMARY 

The  original  American  states  developed  from  the  condition 
of  colonies.  These  colonies  were  begun  in  a  very  small  way, 
with  a  few  hundred  people,  making  more  or  less  compact  set- 
tlements. Gradually  the  number  of  settlements  increased,  and 
thus  the  colony  became  a  collection  of  towns  and  counties 
bound  together  under  a  single  government;  the  divisions, 
however  (the  towns  and  counties),  had  their  own  local  gov- 
ernments, those  of  the  towns  being  purely  democratic. 

The  colonial  governments  varied  in  form,  some  being  royal 
colonies^  some  proprietary  colonies^  and  some  charter  colonies. 
The  main  difference  was  that  in  the  first  the  governor  was 
appointed  by  the  crown,  in  the  second  by  the  proprietor,  and 
in  the  third  by  the  people  themselves.  Some  colonies  had 
mixed  forms,  and  before  the  Revolution  most  of  them  had 
royal  governors.  But  in  all  of  them  the  power  of  the  gov- 
ernor was  limited  by  a  representative  assembly  which  had  the 
right  to  levy  taxes. 

When  the  Revolution  came,  the  royal  governors  were  forced 
to  flee,  and  then  the  colonies  set  up  temporary  war  govern- 
ments. Later,  by  the  advice  of  the  Continental  Congress,  they 
adopted  regular  state  constitutions.  The  resulting  states  dif- 
fered from  the  colonies  in  that  they  were  independent,  while  the 
colonies  had  been  dependent  political  organizations. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   STATE    GOVERNMENTS  ^ 

The  Constitution  of  Virginia,  1776.  Let  us  now  see 
what  was  the  form  of  government  actually  adopted  by 
the  states.  It  was  stated  above  that  the  Continental 
Congress,  in  May,  1776,  advised  the  colonies  to  set  up 
permanent  governments  ;  and  that  Virginia,  acting  on 
this  advice,  adopted  a  state  constitution  in  June  of  the 
same  year,  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
made.  This  Virginia  constitution  is  very  important, 
because  it  served  as  a  sort  of  pattern  to  the  states  which 
adopted  constitutions  later. 

It  was  made  while  civil  war  was  raging  in  Virginia. 
The  royal  governor,  Lord  Dunmore,  with  as  many  loy- 
alists as  he  could  get  to  assist  him,  was  harrying  the 
coasts  and  rivers  of  the  state.  Early  in  the  summer  he 
burned  the  city  of  Norfolk.  Excitement  ran  high  when 
the  convention,  consisting  of  members  of  the  former 
House  of  Burgesses,  met  in  Williamsburg,  May  6.  It 
contained  men  of  the  noblest  stamp.  Among  them 
was  James  Madison,  then  only  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
The  great  leader  and  orator,  Patrick  Henry,  was  also  a 
member  of  the  body. 

Bill  of  Rights.  On  the  12th  of  June  the  convention 
adopted  a  "  Bill  of  Rights,"  which  came  to  be  regarded 
as  an  essential  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  state.     It 

^  For  an  excellent  account  of  the  development  of  the  state  con- 
stitutions, see  Bryce,  i.  450-462. 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  109 

contains  sixteen  clauses  dealing  with  the  great  principles 
of  liberty  which  English  people  had  won  for  themselves 
in  the  course  of  many  centuries.  Among  other  things 
it  declares  :  — 

(a)  "  That  men  are  by  nature  equally  free  and  inde- 
pendent, and  have  certain  inherent  rights,  namely,  the 
enjoyment  of  life  and  liberty,  with  the  means  of  acquir- 
ing and  possessing  property,  and  pursuing  and  attaining 
happiness  and  safety." 

(d)  "  That  all  powers  are  vested  in  and  consequently 
derived  from  the  people  ;  that  magistrates  are  their  trus- 
tees and  servants,  and  at  all  times  amenable  to  them." 

(c)  "  That  government  is,  or  ought  to  be,  instituted 
for  the  common  benefit,  protection,  and  security  of  the 
people,  nation,  or  community." 

(a)  That  public  offices  ought  not  to  be  hereditary. 

(e)  "  That  the  legislative  and  executive  powers  of  the 
state  should  be  separate  and  distinct  from  the  judiciary," 
and  that  the  officers  ought  to  be  chosen  at  "  frequent, 
certain,  and  regular  elections." 

(/)  "  That  all  elections  ought  to  be  free,  and  that  all 
men  having  sufficient  evidence  of  common  interest  with 
and  attachment  to  the  community  have  the  right  of 
suffrage." 

(g)  "  T/tat  in  all  capital  or  criminal  prosecutions  a  man 
hath  a  right  to  demand  the  cause  and  nature  of  his  ac- 
cusationj  to  be  confronted  with  the  accusers  and  witnesses^ 
to  call  for  evidence  iji  his  favor^  and  to  a  speedy  trial  by 
a  jury  of  twelve  men  of  his  vicinage}  without  whose 
unanimous  consent  he  cannot  be  found  gtcilty  ;  nor  can  he 
be  compelled  to  give  evidence  against  himself;  that  no 

1  Vicinage  =  neighborhood.  For  judicial  purposes  a  county  is  a 
neighborhood. 


no    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

man  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  except  by  the  law  of  the 
land  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers  y  ^ 

{h)  "  That  general  warrants  .  .  .  are  grievous  and 
oppressive,  and  ought  not  to  be  granted."  2 

{i)  *'  That  the  freedom  of  the  press  is  one  of  the  great 
bulwarks  of  liberty,  and  can  never  be  restrained  but  by 
despotic  governments." 

(/)  "That  a  well  regulated  militia,  composed  of  the 
body  of  the  people,  trained  to  arms,  is  the  proper, 
natural,  and  safe  defence  of  a  free  state."  That  in  all 
cases  "  the  military  should  be  in  strict  subordination  to, 
and  governed  by,  the  civil  power." 

{k)  "That  religion,  or  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  creator, 
and  the  manner  of  discharging  it,  can  be  directed  only 
by  reason  and  conviction,  not  by  force  or  violence,  and 
therefore  all  men  are  equally  entitled  to  the  free  exercise 
of  religion  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  ;  and 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  practise  Christian  forbear- 
ance, love,  and  charity  towards  each  other." 

Adoption  of  the  Constitution.  On  the  29th  of  June 
the  same  convention  adopted  the  constitution,  or  form 
of  government,  of  which  the  foregoing  bill  of  rights 
may  be  regarded  as  the  introduction.  Counting  it  as 
one  part  of  the  complete  constitution,  the  entire  docu- 
ment may  be  summarized  under  the  following  heads : 
{a)  the  enacting  clause ;  {b)  the  bill  of  rights ;  {c)  the 
frame  or  form  of  government. 

The   Enacting   Clause    and   Form   of   Government. 

1  The  italics  are  ours. 

^  That  is,  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  any  person  except  such  as 
there  is  evidence  against,  which  evidence  is  given  under  oath  by 
some  one  named  in  the  warrant ;  or  for  the  search  of  a  place  except 
such  as  is  particularly  described  and  specified  by  some  one  making 
a  sworn  statement. 


THE   STATE    GOVERNMENTS  III 

The  enacting  clause  simply  states  what  is  done  and  who 
does  it,  as  follows  :  "  We,  the  delegates  and  representa- 
tives of  the  good  people  of  Virginia,  do  declare  the 
future  government  of  Virginia  to  be  as  followeth." 

The  form  of  government  was  essentially  like  the  state 
governments  of  to-day,  with  some  differences  which  will 
be  noted  as  we  proceed.  The  first  clause  states  that 
"  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  departments 
should  be  separate  and  distinct,  so  that  neither  exercise 
the  powers  properly  belonging  to  the  other." 

We  have  here  the  familiar  division  into  three  depart- 
ments with  which  we  have  become  acquainted  in  the 
governments  of  the  township,  the  county,  and  the  city. 
We  are  next  shown  how  each  of  these  departments  was 
to  be  organized. 

The  Legislative  Department.  The  legislative,  as 
being  in  some  respects  the  most  important,  is  treated 
first.  "  The  legislature  shall  be  formed  of  two  distinct 
branches,  who  together  shall  be  a  complete  legislature. 
They  shall  meet  once  or  oftener  every  year,  and  shall  be 
called  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia.  One  of  these 
shall  be  called  the  House  of  Delegates,  .  .  .  the  other 
shall  be  called  the  Senate." 

The  House  of  Delegates  was  to  be  made  up  of  two 
men  from  each  county,  elected  by  the  freeeholders,  and 
one  from  each  of  two  boroughs.^  The  Senate  was  to  con- 
sist of  twenty-four  persons,  chosen  from  twenty-four  dis- 
tricts into  which  the  state  was  divided  for  that  purpose. 

The  Executive  Department.  Having  disposed  of  the 
legislative,  the  constitution  next  takes  up  the  executive 
department.  On  this  point  it  provides  that  "  a  governor, 
or  chief  magistrate,  shall  be  chosen  annually  by  joint 
ballot  of  both  houses."  This  is  very  different  from  our 
1  The  two  boroughs  were  Williamsburg  and  Norfolk. . 


112     GOVERNMENT   OF    THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

present  system.  We  are  accustomed  to  choosing  our 
governors,  as  we  choose  the  members  of  our  legislative 
department,  by  direct  vote  of  the  people.  But  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago  people  were  not 
accustomed  to  voting  for  their  chief  magistrates.  In 
most  of  the  colonies  the  governors  had  been  appointed 
by  the  crown ;  but  the  people  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  choosing  at  least  one  house  of  the  legislature. 
So  the  Virginians  provided  for  an  elective  legislature  of 
HWo  branches,  and  allowed  it,  instead  of  the  people,  to 
choose  the  governor. 

Jealousy  of  the  Executive.  In  other  respects  the 
treatment  of  the  executive  in  this  early  constitution  is 
very  different  from  what  we  are  used  to.  People  at  that 
time  naturally  distrusted  governors.  Those  they  had 
had  were  the  agents  of  the  king,  and  as  we  have  seen 
tried  to  carry  out  the  king's  will  in  the  colonies.  In  doing 
so  they  had  come  to  be  generally  hated  by  the  people. 
At  the  very  time  this  constitution  was  being  made,  the 
royal  governor,  Dunmore,  was  carrying  on  a  harass- 
ing war  against  the  Virginians.  Now,  however,  that 
they  were  providing  for  a  governor  of  their  own,  instead 
of  a  king's  governor,  it  might  be  supposed  they  would 
look  upon  him  in  a  different  way.  And  yet,  as  we  all 
know,  prejudice  clings  to  names  and  offices  even  after 
their  character  has  been  wholly  changed.  So  the  Virgin- 
ians gave  their  governor  just  as  little  power  as  they 
safely  could.  We  are  accustomed  to  a  governor  who  has 
the  right  to  veto  all  laws  passed  by  the  legislature.  But 
the  Virginia  governor  had  no  veto  power  at  all.  Our 
governors  to-day  generally  have  the  right  to  Suggest 
legislation  by  a  message  sent  to  the  two  houses  ;  but  the 
Virginia  governor  had  no  such  right. 

Not  only  did  the  General  Assembly  appoint  the  gov- 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  113 

ernor,  but  it  also  appointed  a  body  of  eight  men  to  con- 
trol the  governor.  This  body  was  called  the  council  of 
state.  It  chose  its  own  president,  who  performed  the 
duties  of  governor  in  case  of  the  death  or  disability  of 
the  elected  governor,  as  our  lieutenant-governor  does. 
This  council  of  state  advised  the  governor  in  all  ex- 
ecutive matters.  He  could  not  call  special  sessions  of 
the  General  Assembly  without  their  advice  or  the  request 
of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Dele- 
gates ;  he  could  not  grant  a  pardon  without  their  con- 
sent;  he  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia  of  the 
state,  but  he  could  not  call  them  out  without  the  advice 
of  the  council  of  state.  Thus  was  the  governor  hedged 
in  and  limited  in  the  exercise  of  his  power. 

Growth  in  Power  of  the  Executive.  We  shall  find, 
by  reading  a  number  of  the  revolutionary  constitutions, 
that  this  distrust  of  governors  was  very  general,  and  the 
powers  granted  to  them  were  usually  of  the  most  meagre 
character.  As  time  passed  the  feeling  against  gover- 
nors disappeared,  and  in  the  later  constitutions  of  the 
original  states,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  newer  states, 
the  governor  becomes  a  much  more  important  officer. 
Under  the  constitution  of  Virginia  adopted  in  1850,  the 
governor  is  elected  by  the  qualified  voters  for  a  term 
of  four  years ;  and  is  given  power  to  recommend  legis- 
lation by  message  to  the  two  houses  ;  call  sessions  of  the 
General  Assembly  at  his  will ;  call  out  the  militia  when 
in  his  opinion  the  public  safety  requires  it ;  appoint 
many  civil  officers  temporarily  ;  grant  pardons,  reprieves, 
etc. ;  demand  reports  of  state  officers  ;  and  communicate 
with  other  states  and  foreign  powers.  The  right  of  veto 
was  not  given  him  in  the  constitution  of  1850,  nor  in 
that  of  1864.  But  in  1870  a  new  constitution  was 
adopted  in  which  it  was  granted. 


ri4    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Thus  we  see  that  the  powers  of  the  Virginia  governor, 
at  first  exceedingly  limited,  have  come  to  be  very  great. 
This  illustrates  what  has  gone  on  throughout  the  coun- 
try. The  movement  has  been  something  like  that  which 
has  given  the  mayors  of  our  cities  so  much  power,  but 
it  has  not  been  so  marked. 

The  Judicial  Department.  The  Virginia  constitution 
of  1776  placed  the  appointment  of  justices  of  the  peace 
in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  council  of  state. 
These  justices,  in  the  sessions  of  the  county  court,  tried 
all  minor  offences.  There  were  higher  courts  in  which 
more  important  cases  were  tried,  and  to  which  cases 
could  be  appealed  from  the  county  court.  The  two  most 
important  were  called  the  General  Court  and  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Appeals.  Their  judges  were  appointed 
by  the  General  Assembly  and  held  office  during  good 
behavior,  which  means,  practically,  for  life. 

Summary  of  the  Virginia  Constitution  of  1776. 
Such,  in  outline,  was  the  constitution  adopted  by  the 
Virginia  convention  in  June,  1776.  It  may  be  helpful 
to  review  its  general  features  before  passing  from  it. 
It  contained  the  bill  of  rights,  sixteen  clauses,  as  de- 
scribed above  ;  and  the  frame  of  government,  providing 
for  three  departments,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial. 

The  legislative  department,  or  General  Assembly, 
contained  two  houses,  the  House  of  Delegates  and  the 
Senate.  The  House  of  Delegates  was  composed  of  two 
members  from  each  county  and  one  from  each  of  two 
boroughs,  chosen  by  the  freeholders  for  the  term  of  one 
year  ;  the  Senate  had  twenty-four  members,  chosen  from 
twenty-four  districts  every  four  years. 

The  executive  department  was  made  up  of  the  gov- 
ernor, chosen  by  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  a  council  of 
state,  also  chosen  by  the  General  Assembly. 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  II5 

.  The  judicial  department  contained  two  elements : 
first,  the  justices  in  the  counties,  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  council ;  second,  higher  courts,  whose  judges 
were  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly. 

Separation  into  Three  Departments.  The  idea  of 
having  three  departments,  each  distinct  from  the  others 
and  independent  of  them,  was  strongly  held  by  Ameri- 
cans at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  It  is  one  of  the 
things  that  guarantee  liberty.  Legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial  power  in  the  hands  of  one  man  means  tyr- 
anny if  the  man  who  holds  this  power  chooses  to  play 
the  tyrant.  This  was  the  condition  in  France  before 
the  French  revolution  (1789).  Louis  XIV.  could  say, 
**  I  am  the  state,"  because  he,  as  king,  not  only  made 
the  laws,  but  also  controlled  the  execution  of  them  and 
their  interpretation  by  the  courts. 

When  one  body  of  men  make  the  laws,  and  an  en- 
tirely distinct  and  independent  body  act  as  judges  in 
cases  arising  under  them,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  tyranny 
is  less  likely  to  creep  into  the  government.  Bodies  of 
men  are  not  so  likely  to  become  despotic  as  an  indi- 
vidual man  is.  Therefore  it  is  especially  important  to 
keep  the  law-making  and  judging  powers  from  getting 
into  the  hands  of  the  executive.  Under  the  Virginia 
constitution  the  judges  of  the  higher  courts  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Assembly.  This  would  seem  to 
make  them  dependent  on  the  legislative  branch.  But 
they  were  appointed  for  life,  or  during  good  behavior, 
and  so  were  actually  independent.  The  judges  had  no 
fear  of  the  legislature  if  they  decided  cases  contrary  to 
its  wishes.  The  governor,  however,  was  chosen  annu- 
ally and  was  under  the  control  of  the  legislative  depart- 
ment which  chose  him.  This  defect  was  remedied  by 
giving  the  people  the  right  to  elect  the  governor.     We 


Il6    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

have  seen  that  the  Virginia  constitution  is  made  up  of 
a  bill  of  rights  and  a  frame  of  government.  Both  to- 
gether make  a  document  which  would  cover  not  over 
eight  pages  in  this  book.  It  will  be  profitable  for  sev- 
eral reasons  to  compare  it  with  the  constitution  of  one 
of  the  new  states. 

Constitution  of  North  Dakota.  The  constitution  of 
North  Dakota  covers  fifty  pages  in  a  book  as  large  as 
this,  or  more  than  six  times  as  much  space  as  does  that 
of  Virginia.  Other  new  constitutions  are  fully  as  elabo- 
rate as  that  of  North  Dakota,  while  several  of  the  early 
ones  are  even  briefer  than  that  of  Virginia. 

In  the  North  Dakota  constitution  about  eighteen 
pages,  a  little  over  one  third  of  the  whole  number,  are 
taken  up  by  the  first  four  articles,  on  Declaration  of 
Rights,  Legislative,  Executive,  and  Judicial  Depart- 
ments. These,  we  see  at  once,  embrace  the  topics 
treated  in  the  Virginia  bill  of  rights  and  frame  of  gov- 
ernment ;  but  they  fill  a  little  more  than  twice  as  much 
space  as  the  entire  Virginia  constitution  occupies.  In 
addition  to  this  there  are  thirty-two  pages  of  matter, 
most  of  which  is  on  topics  not  treated  at  all  in  the  Vir- 
ginia and  other  early  constitutions.^ 

Reasons  for  the  Greater  Length  of  New  Constitu- 
tions.2     There  are  several  reasons  for  the  tendency  of 

1  The  fifth  article  is  on  the  elective  franchise,  the  sixth  on  muni- 
cipal corporations,  the  seventh  on  corporations  other  than  munici- 
pal ;  then  follow  articles  on  education,  school  and  public  lands, 
county  and  township  organization,  revenue  and  taxation,  public 
debt  and  public  works,  militia,  impeachment  and  removal  from 
office,  future  amendments,  compact  with  the  United  States,  and 
miscellaneous.  There  are,  lastly,  articles  on  congressional  and 
legislative  apportionment,  public  institutions,  and  prohibition. 
Twenty  separate  articles  are  numbered.  The  schedule,  so-called, 
covering  seven  pages,  concludes  this  voluminous  constitution. 

2  See  Bryce,  i.  436. 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  11/ 

State  constitutions  to  become  long  and  complex.  In  the 
first  place,  everything  relating  to  the  form  of  govern- 
ment is  more  carefully  defined  now  than  formerly,  be- 
cause experience  has  shown  the  need  of  it. 

Secondly,  some  of  the  early  constitutions  were  defec- 
tive in  that  they  provided  no  regular  way  in  which  they 
could  be  amended.  The  later  ones  correct  this  by 
giving  a  detailed  plan  of  procedure  for  securing  amend- 
ments. 

Thirdly,  the  relations  between  the  new  states  and  the 
national  government  have  made  necessary  certain  ex- 
planatory articles. 

Fourthly,  some  matters,  which  during  earlier  times 
were  left  wholly  to  the  legislatures,  are  now  considered 
of  so  much  importance  that  it  seems  well  for  the  people, 
in  making  their  constitutions,  to  regulate  them  as  far  as 
possible.  This  accounts  for  a  large  share  of  the  space 
occupied  by  the  newer  constitutions.  Such  things  as 
education,  municipal  and  other  corporations,  public  debt, 
school  and  pubHc  lands,  might  be  left  to  the  legislatures 
to  deal  with  as  they  see  fit.  But  the  people  now  gener- 
ally prefer  to  set  limits  to  the  power  of  the  legislatures 
in  dealing  with  them. 

This  illustrates  the  disposition  of  modern  states  to  be 
jealous  of  the  legislatures.  When  Virginia  made  her 
first  constitution,  there  was  great  jealousy  of  the  gov- 
ernor. Now  the  governors  are  given  far  more  power 
than  formerly,  while  the  legislatures  are  hedged  about. 

General  Features  of  Present  State  Governments.  In 
their  general  features  the  governments  of  our  states  are 
at  present  nearly  uniform.  There  are  always  the  three 
departments,  —  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial,  —  and 
these  are  organized  in  very  much  the  same  way  in  all  of 
the  states. 


Il8    GOVERNMENT  OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

The  legislature  is  made  up  of  two  houses,  an  upper 
and  a  lower/  The  upper  house  is  always  called  the 
senate^  while  the  lower  has  various  names,  such  as  house 
of  representatives,  house  of  de legate s,  or  assembly.  The 
senate  is  the  smaller  body,  and  its  members  are  often 
chosen  for  longer  terms  than  are  the  members  of  the 
lower  house. 

In  the  making  of  laws  the  two  houses  of  the  legis- 
lature have  a  veto  on  each  other  ;  that  is  to  say,  if  a 
bill  originates  in  one  house  and  receives  a  majority 
vote  there,  it  must  receive  a  majority  vote  in  the  other 
house,  also,  before  going  to  the  governor  for  his  signa- 
ture.    If  it  fails  to  secure  this  majority,  it  is  killed.^ 

The  legislature  has  the  power  of  levying  taxes  upon 
the  people  of  the  state,  and  of  appropriating  state  funds 
for  such  objects  as  it  chooses.  But  in  these  matters,  as 
in  the  passage  of  ordinary  laws,  the  governor's  signa- 
ture is  always  required,  and  in  some  states  his  power 
over  appropriations  is  very  great. 

The  executive  department  consists  of  the  governor 
and  a  number  of  executive  or  administrative  officers  who 
are  necessary  to  the  proper  management  of  the  govern- 
mental machinery.^  These  include  a  secretary  of  state, 
a  treasurer,  and  an  attorney-general ;  usually  there  is 
also  a  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  very 
often  there  are  other  officers,  such  as  an  auditor,  one  or 

1  See  Bryce,  i.  477-493.  On  the  executive,  see  pp.  494-500;  and 
on  the  judiciary,  pp.  501-51 1. 

2  A  bill  fails  to  become  a  law,  even  after  passing  both  houses  by 
a  majority  vote,  if  the  governor  refuses  to  sign  it  and  the  two 
houses  cannot  pass  it  over  his  "veto."  To  pass  a  bill  over  the 
governor's  veto  usually  requires  a  two  thirds'  vote  of  both  houses. 

^  The  lieutenant-governor  is  usually  made  president  of  the  sen- 
ate.    He  is  therefore  rather  a  legislative  than  an  executive  officer. 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  II9 

more  railroad  commissioners,  a  dairy  and  food  commis- 
sioner, an  insurance  commissioner,  a  labor  commissioner, 
a  commissioner  of  statistics,  as  well  as  numerous 
boards.  Their  duties  are,  in  part,  indicated  by  their 
titles,  but  considerable  variations  exist,  due  to  differences 
in  the  number  of  departments  and  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness to  be  performed. 

These  state  officers  are  almost  always  elected  by  the 
people  for  the  same  term  as  the  governor,  and  they 
are  generally  looked  upon  as  the  governor's  helpers  in 
carrying  on  the  administration.  Yet  they  are  quite 
independent  so  far  as  the  management  of  their  depart- 
ments is  concerned,  and  they  do  not  necessarily  belong 
to  the  governor's  political  party.^ 

The  judicial  department  always  contains  a  supreme 
court,  which,  as  the  name  implies,  is  at  the  head  of  the 
judicial  system  of  the  state.  It  has  general  oversight 
over  the  other  courts,  and  receives  cases  from  them  on 
appeal.  Below  the  supreme  court  is  the  district  or  cir- 
cuit court.  The  state  is  divided  into  a  number  of  dis- 
tricts, each,  as  a  rule,  containing  several  counties.  A 
judge  is  chosen  for  each  district,  and  he  holds  sessions 
of  court  in  each  county  of  his  district  in  turn,  thus  pass- 
ing round  the  "  circuit."  For  this  reason  the  courts 
held  by  these  judges  are  often  called  "  circuit  courts  '* 
rather  than  "  district  courts,"  which  is  their  name  in 
some  states.  These  courts  have  general  jurisdiction  in 
both  civil  and  criminal  matters,  and  they  actually  take 
care  of  the  greater  part  of  the  judicial  business. 

1  In  states  in  which  the  two  political  parties  are  evenly  matched 
in  strength,  it  often  happens  that  the  governor  belongs  to  one  party, 
while  some  or  all  of  the  other  state  officers  belong  to  the  opposing 
party.  Here  is  a  difference  between  the  state  and  national  govern- 
ments :  the  heads  of  departments  in  the  latter  are  always  appointed 
by  the  president,  and  almost  invariably  belong  to  the  same  party. 


120     GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Other  courts  within  the  state  are  those  of  county, 
city,  and  township,  as  already  indicated. 

The  Success  of  our  State  Grovernments.  In  general, 
we  may  say  that  our  states,  as  compared  especially  with 
the  great  cities,  are  very  well  governed.  There  are  cases 
of  "  boss  "  rule  and  '*  ring  "  rule,  some  of  which  are  so 
bad  as  to  cause  all  good  citizens  the  deepest  concern, 
but  these  have  been  exceptional,  and  will  become  more 
rare  as  our  people  learn  the  lesson  of  responsibility 
better. 

There  are  many  cases  of  extravagance  in  making  ap- 
propriations, and  there  is  much  lack  of  wisdom  in  the 
way  the  people's  money  is  distributed  by  state  legisla- 
tures. But  better  business  and  economic  training  will 
gradually  lessen  these  evils. 

Our  state  officials,  especially  those  in  the  leading 
offices,  have  usually  been  men  belonging  to  the  best 
class  of  American  citizens,  and  their  patriotic  labors 
have  done  much  to  maintain  the  high  standard  of  effi- 
ciency and  honesty  found  in  most  of  the  states.  When 
we  consider  that  our  states  are  completely  self-governing 
so  far  as  internal  affairs  are  concerned ;  that  the  legisla- 
tures make  laws  on  all  possible  subjects  relating  to  the 
welfare  of  the  people  ;  and  that  the  state  judiciary  is  a 
complete  system,  from  the  justice  of  the  peace  to  the 
supreme  court,  almost  wholly  independent  of  the  United 
States  courts,  we  not  only  have  great  respect  for  the 
states  as  political  organizations,  but  have  reason  to  be 
proud  of  the  success  of  their  governments. 

SUMMARY 

The  constitutions  adopted  by  the  states  in  1776,  and  after- 
ward,  provided   generally   for  (a)    a    bill    of   rights,    (p)   a 


THE    STATE    GOVERNMENT  121 

frame  of  government  embracing  a  legislative,  an  executive, 
and  a  judicial  department.  The  legislative  department  was 
very  strong,  while  the  executive  was  weak.  An  effort  was 
made  to  keep  the  three  departments  independent  of  one 
another,  but  in  practice  the  legislative  controlled  the  execu- 
tive. In  later  constitutions  the  power  of  the  executive  has 
shown  a  tendency  to  grow  at  the  expense  of  the  legislature. 
The  new  constitutions  embrace  many  more  subjects,  and 
are  much  larger  documents  than  the  early  ones.  There  is 
great  uniformity  in  the  general  organization  of  state  govern- 
ments at  present,  and  on  the  whole  our  states  are  well  gov- 
erned. 


OUTLINE 

FOR  STUDYING  THE  STATE  CONSTITUTION 

1.  The  Document  Itself. 

a.  Who  made  it,  when,  and  under  what  circumstances? 

b.  Its  length,  division  into  articles,  etc. 

c.  Its  main  subdivisions  as  to  subject  matter. 

2.  Its  Essential  Parts. 

a.  The  enacting  clause. 

b.  The  Bill  of  Rights. 

c.  The  Frame  of  Government. 

d.  The  provision  for  amendments. 

3.  Other  Matters  in  the  Constitution. 

a.  Do  these  limit  the  legislative,  the  executive,  or  the  judicial 
department  ? 

b.  Are  they  temporary,  or  of  permanent  importance  ? 

c.  Do  they  explain  the  relations  between  the  state  and  the  na- 
tional government  ? 

d.  Has  it  been  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  have  them  in 
the  constitution? 

4.  The  Enacting  Clause  or  Preamble. 

a.  Its  form. 

b.  Its  contents.  Does  it  contain  more  than  a  statement  of  what 
is  done  and  who  does  it  ?     If  so,  why  ? 

5.  The  Bill  of  Rights. 

a.  Does  it  cover  more  points  than  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights  ? 

b.  Make  a  list  of  the  additional  points. 

c.  Look  for  them  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  If  not  found  there,  try  to  find 
the  explanation  of  their  presence  in  special  local  conditions. 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  123 

d.  Is  this  Bill  of  Rights  your  only  guaranty  of  the  peaceable  pos- 
session of  the  rights  there  guaranteed?  If  not,  where  else  are  they 
guaranteed  ? 

6.  The  Frame  of  Government. 

a.  The  Legislative  Department. 
(i)  What  is  its  official  name  ? 

(2)  What  is  each  house  called  ? 

(3)  How  many  members  has  each,  what  are  their  qualifications, 
how  are  they  chosen,  by  whom,  and  for  what  term  ? 

(4)  What  special  privileges  do  the  members  of  the  legislature 
have? 

(5)  How  often  do  the  sessions  occur,  and  how  long  may  they  con- 
tinue ? 

(6)  What  is  the  prescribed  method  of  passing  laws  ? 

(7)  What  appointing  power  has  the  legislature,  or  either  house  ? 

(8)  What  things  can  it  do  without  the  consent  of  the  governor  ? 

b.  The  Executive  Defiartjuent. 

(i)  Who  may  be  governor;  is  he  chosen  by  majority  or  plurality 
vote  ;  what  is  his  term  of  office  ? 

(2)  What  power  does  he  have  over  the  legislature  by  veto  or 
otherwise  ? 

(3)  What  officers  may  he  appoint  independently  of,  and  what  ones 
with  the  consent  of,  one  or  both  houses  of  the  legislature  ? 

(4)  What  control  does  he  have  over  the  other  state  officers  ? 

(5)  What  power  of  a  judicial  nature  does  he  have  ? 

(6)  What  military  powers  has  the  governor  ? 

(7)  Are  there  any  special  limitations  upon  him  ? 

(8)  What  provision  is  made  against  his  death,  disability,  or 
absence  during  the  term  ? 

c.  The  Judicial  Department. 
(i)  What  is  the  lowest  court? 

(2)  What  is  the  highest  court  ? 

(3)  What  intermediate  courts  are  there  ? 

(4)  What  classes  of  cases  are  tried  in  each  ? 

(5)  Which  court  does  the  largest  part  of  the  business  ? 

(6)  How  are  the  judges  of  each  chosen,  for  what  term,  by  whom, 
and  what  qualifications  are  required  for  the  office  ? 


124     GOVERNMENT    OF    THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

(7)  What  special  provision  is  made  for  probate  business? 

(8)  Are  the  courts  independent  of  both  the  other  departments  ? 

(9)  Have  the  courts  any  control  over  either  of  the  other  depart- 
ments ? 

7.  The  Working  of  the  Constitution. 

a.  Do  the  parts  of  the  Constitution  seem  to  work  harmoniously- 
together  ? 

b.  Is  any  part  of  your  state  constitution  unwritten?  think  of  the 
way  in  which  candidates  are  nominated  for  office.  Is  there  any 
written  regulation  of  party  conventions  for  nominating  state,  county, 
and  city  officers  ? 

c.  What  would  be  the  advantages  of  a  primary  election  law  which 
would  give  the  voters  of  each  party  the  chance  to  nominate  their 
candidates  for  all  offices  by  ballot  ?  What  disadvantages  would 
such  a  plan  have  ? 

d.  How  does  the  state  government  work  in  the  matter  of  educa- 
tion, taxation,  and  roads  ? 

8.  What  state  officers,  aside  from  the  governor,  are  chosen  by  the 
people  ?  What  are  the  duties  of  each  ?  Do  these  officers  limit  the 
power  of  the  governor  ? 

9.  What  does  the  Constitution  say  about  cities,  counties,  and 
townships  ? 

SUGGESTIONS  AND  QUESTIONS 

1.  What  parts  making  up  the  state  were  created  by  the  Fun- 
damental Orders  of  Connecticut?  Is  there  any  similarity  in  the 
way  Connecticut  was  made  and  the  way  England  was  created  by 
the  union  of  small  kingdoms  ?  What  difference  was  there  in  the 
process  of  making  the  union  in  the  two  cases  ? 

2.  Are  there,  in  your  county  or  state,  any  bodies  of  people  who 
came  in  as  church  congregations  ?  If  so,  is  there  any  tendency  for 
those  congregations  to  become  political  units  like  the  New  England 
township?     If  not,  can  you  explain  why  not? 

3.  What  does  Magna  Charta  say  about  the  way  in  which  taxes 
should  be  levied?  See  pages  11,  12.  Read  the  Petition  of  Right, 
Old  South  Leaflets^  No.  23,  and  see  what  it  says  about  taxation,  espe- 
cially as  to  who  has  the  power  to  impose  taxes.     Read  also  on  the 


THE   STATE   GOVERNMENTS  125 

same  subject,  the  English  Bill  of  Rights,  Old  South  Leaflets,  A^o. 
19. 

4.  Who  were  Sir  John  Eliot  and  John  Hampden,  and  what  con- 
nection did  they  have  with  the  question  of  taxation  in  England? 
See  Green,  Short  History. 

5.  Mention  two  or  three  of  the  present  colonies  of  Great  Britain. 
How  are  they  governed  and  what  control  has  the  mother  country 
over  them  ?  See  article  on  Canada,  by  Bourinot,  Fortim,  March, 
1901. 

6.  Why  did  the  "  Glorious  Revolution  "  of  1688  give  Englishmen 
a  new  idea  of  the  relations  between  king  and  Parliament  ?  See 
Green,  Short  History. 

7.  Why  does  a  condition  of  warfare  require  a  more  vigorous  gov- 
ernment than  a  condition  of  peace  ?  Are  wars  sometimes  helpful 
as  a  means  of  developing  governments  ?  Look  up  the  case  of  the 
new  German  Empire ;  also  consider  the  Civil  War  in  America. 

8.  Were  the  colonies  "free  and  independent  states"  in  1774? 
If  not,  could  they  have  delegated  any  powers  to  the  Continental 
Congress  ?  If  they  did  not  delegate  power  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  how  did  it  have  the  power  to  declare  the  colonies  to  be 
"  free  and  independent  states  "  ? 

9.  Mention  as  many  "free  and  independent  states"  of  South 
America  as  you  can  think  of  or  find  on  a  recent  map.  Does  "  free- 
dom and  independence"  make  them  strong  and  great?  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  union,  with  loss  of  some  of  their  independence,  would  be 
better  for  these  people  ? 

10.  How  did  the  belief  originate  that  newly  discovered  territory 
belonged  to  the  crown,  not  to  the  nation  as  a  whole  ? 

11.  What  led  tl^  Puritans  in  Massachusetts  Bay  to  take  up  the 
democratic  form  of  church  government  ? 

12.  In  some  states  the  governor  has  the  right  to  veto  any  single 
item  in  a  bill  appropriating  money.  What  is  to  be  gained  by  such 
a  provision,  and  what  danger  is  there  in  it  ? 

13.  It  has  been  said  of  the  governments  of  some  of  our  states 
that  they  are  "almost  as  absolute  as  the  government  of  Russia." 
In  what  sense  is  this  true,  and  how  may  the  evil  be  cured? 

14.  Compare  the  officers  of  your  state  with  those  of  the  smaller 
governments  within  the  state,  such  as  the  county,  city,  and  township. 
Are  the  state  officers  better  qualified  for  their  positions,  as  a  rule, 
or  are  they  not  ?    Try  to  explain  any  differences  you  may  notice  by 


126     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

considering  the  comparative  importance  and  dignity  of  the  offices ; 
the  salary  attached  to  them  ;  the  conditions  under  which  nomina- 
tions and  elections  are  conducted,  etc. 

15.  Read  the  party  platforms  of  the  last  state  campaign.  What 
were  the  questions  at  issue  between  the  two  principal  parties  ?  How 
many  of  these  were  distinctly  state  issues,  and  how  many  had  refer- 
ence to  national  politics  ? 


CHAPTER   XII 

CONDITIONS  THAT   MADE  UNION  BETWEEN   THE   COLONIES 
DIFFICULT 

Colonies  Small  and  Separate.  It  is  difficult  for  us 
to  appreciate  fully  how  small  and  separate  were  the  first 
English  colonies  in  America.  We  have  become  accus- 
tomed to  thinking  of  townships,  counties,  and  states  as 
bound  together  in  a  nation.  Our  ancestors  had  no  such 
ideas  to  begin  with,  and  no  desire  to  be  united  to  their 
neighbors.  In  fact,  they  were  constantly  quarreling 
with  neighboring  towns  or  colonies  ;  each  colony  was 
determined  to  protect  its  own  selfish  interests.  They 
were  planting  the  seed  of  a  new  civilization,  and  it 
needed  time  to  grow.  Community  of  interest,  desire  for 
union,  strong  central  government,  do  not  grow  in  a 
day  ;  the  process  is  a  long  and  difficult  one. 

Colonies  like  England  in  Development.  Our  fore- 
fathers were  Englishmen.  This  process  of  growth,  then, 
would  naturally  be  English  ;  would  very  likely  be  sim- 
ilar to  the  process  of  development  through  which  the 
parent  state  went  after  the  seed  of  Saxon  civilization 
was  planted  on  British  soil.  We  ought  to  expect  in 
America  the  same  local  distrust,  the  same  tenacious 
independence  of  local  units.  We  ought  to  expect  similar 
barriers  to  union,  similar  difficulties  in  getting  colonies 
to  put  aside  local  prejudices  and  self-interest  for  the 
higher  good  of  all.  We  should  not  be  surprised  that 
not  the  best  of  feeling  existed  between  Rhode  Island 


128    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

and  Massachusetts,  between  New  York  and  Connecticut. 
We  should  not  be  surprised  to  find  ill  feeling  between 
Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay,  though  they  after- 
wards became  parts  of  the  same  state  ;  and  between 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  both  now  parts  of  Con- 
necticut. 

Difference  in  Religion.  This  ill  feeling  was  made 
worse  by  the  religious  differences  among  the  colonists. 
Because  Roger  Wilhams  did  not  believe  as  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  people  did,  it  was  thought  that  he  should 
be  banished  ;  ^  Virginia  thought  it  necessary  to  drive 
out  Puritans  from  her  borders  ;  and  partly,  at  least,  on 
account  of  religious  differences,  Thomas  Hooker,  in  the 
summer  of  1636,  led  his  people  out  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  to  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Connecticut, 
at  Hartford. 

Then  there  were  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  who  dif- 
fered from  all  the  rest  and  had  suffered  many  things  in 
England  on  that  account.  The  founding  of  a  common- 
wealth in  America  for  their  special  benefit  introduced 
a  disturbing  element.  This  was  no  fault  of  theirs,  for 
their  attitude  toward  religious  freedom  was,  with  Rhode 
Island's,  the  most  advanced  in  the  colonies.  But  in 
that  day  politics  and  religion  could  not  be  separated. 
The  introduction  of  this  new  religious  element  led  to 
strife  which  did  not  end  until  Protestants  got  control  of 
the  government  of  the  colony. 

There  was  another  strong  element  of  religious  difFer- 

1  The  banishment  of  Roger  Williams,  the  persecution  of  the 
people  of  his  colony,  the  refusal  to  allow  them  a  part  in  the  New- 
England  Confederation,  and  the  general  contempt  bestowed  upon 
the  colony  had  their  effect.  Rhode  Island  remained  a  sort  of  aHen 
among  the  colonies  until  after  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  adopted. 


UNION   OF  THE   COLONIES    DIFFICULT       129 

ence.  The  southern  colonies  were  in  the  main  settled 
by  men  who  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England.  The 
northern  colonies  were  settled  in  the  main  by  men  who 
had  separated  from  the  Church  of  England.  We  can 
get  now  no  adequate  idea  of  the  bitterness  of  the  strug- 
gle over  this  separation.  It  was  something  like  the 
bitterness  of  the  time  when  Protestants  seceded  from 
the  Roman  Church. 

And  finally  the  Quakers  were  very  unlike  the  rest  in 
their  religious  belief.  They  were  even  more  extreme 
in  their  desire  for  simplicity  in  religious  forms  than 
were  the  Puritans.  They  refused  to  take  oaths,  while 
the  rest  of  the  people  considered  it  a  solemn  duty  to  do 
so ;  they  showed  no  respect  for  dignitaries,  and  kept  on 
their  hats  in  the  presence  of  magistrates  ;  they  had  no 
churches,  preachers,  or  service  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
the  term,  and  so  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  clergy,  who 
were  powerful  and  despotic  ;  ^  and  they  would  not  go  to 
war,  thus  drawing  upon  themselves  criticism  in  times 
of  public  danger.  In  spite  of  their  simple  life  and  hatred 
of  sham,  their  benevolence  and  love  of  freedom,  they 
introduced  an  element  of  difference  that  in  early  days 
had  to  be  taken  into  account,  and  is  not  yet  entirely  for- 
gotten. 

Race  Differences.  The  growth  of  union  was  retarded 
by  race  differences.  The  colonies  were  mainly  settled 
by  Englishmen,  who  gave  them  in  great  measure  their 
laws  and  institutions.  But  there  were  many  settlers  of 
other  nationalities.  The  Dutch  in  New  Netherland  had 
customs  and  ideas  different  from  those  of  the  English, 
and  the  fact  that  this  colony  was  founded  and  supported 

1  The  movement  was  intensely  democratic  in  its  bearing,  and 
George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
Englishman  to  declare  publicly  against  slavery. 


130    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

rather  as  a  fur-producing  and  trading  colony  than  as  a 
home-building  colony,  like  Massachusetts,  led  to  the 
people's  having  little  part  in  the  government.  The 
introduction  of  the  Patroon  System  —  a  system  of  great 
landlords  and  of  tenants  who  could  never  own  their 
land  —  brought  in  an  element  very  different  from  the 
self-government  of  the  other  colonies,  and  New  York 
was  not  free  from  the  evil  results  of  this  until  after 
1840. 

In  North  and  South  Carolina,  the  Scotch  Irish  formed 
an  important  part  of  the  population.  Many  thousands 
came  there  in  the  course  of  years  from  the  north  of 
Ireland,  and  also  many  Scotch  Highlanders  emigrated 
to  the  same  parts  of  America.  So  that  in  North  Caro- 
lina, before  the  Revolution,  "  they  may  be  said  to  have 
given  direction  to  her  history."  ^ 

Then  there  were  French  Huguenots,  although  their 
numbers  were  comparatively  few.  Pennsylvania  had 
many  Germans  in  the  north  and  east,  and  many  Scotch 
and  Irish  in  the  central  and  western  parts.  There  were  a 
few  Swedes  in  Delaware,  and  Scotch,  Irish,  and  Germans 
in  other  colonies.  We  have  learned  how  to  deal  with 
and  assimilate  foreign  populations,  but  in  that  day  it  was 
much  harder  to  combine  different  race  elements. 

Puritans  and  Cavaliers.  There  was  another  differ- 
ence between  the  settlers  of  the  northern  colonies  and 
the  southern  which  we  must  always  bear  in  mind.  It  is 
closely  connected  with  the  religious  differences  men- 
tioned. The  South,  and  particularly  Virginia,  was  dom- 
inated by  a  class  of  men  called  in  England  Cavaliers, 
who  took  the  side  of  Charles  I.  They  were  aristocrats, 
and,  being  accustomed  to  the  estate  and  manner  of  life 

^  See  Report  of  First  Congress  of  Scotch  Irish  in  America^  paper 
by  William  Wirt  Henry.     Quotation  from  Dr.  J.  R.  Wilson. 


UNION   OF   THE   COLONIES    DIFFICULT       131 

of  the  English  squire,  kept  up  a  similar  kind  of  life  in 
America. 

The  northern  colonies  were  settled  by  a  very  different 
class  of  people.  They  were  called  Puritans,  or  Round 
Heads,  and  had  sided  with  Parliament  against  the  king. 
They  did  not,  in  general,  belong  to  the  aristocracy,  and 
they  were  prudent,  thrifty  people,  willing  and  accus- 
tomed to  work  with  their  hands.  They  were  inclined 
toward  town  life,  and  developed  a  genius  for  invention, 
commerce,  and  trading. 

No  Interchange  of  Ideas.  Union  was  also  hindered 
by  a  lack  of  intercourse  between  the  colonies.  Men  are 
apt  to  take  a  hostile  attitude  toward  things  and  people 
about  which  they  know  little  or  nothing.  There  was  a 
lack  of  roads  and  the  other  means  of  communication 
familiar  to  us  ;  the  newspaper,  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful agencies  ever  known  for  the  interchange  of  ideas 
and  the  moulding  of  public  opinion,  was  not  in  exist- 
ence ;  and  the  postal  system  was  as  yet  undeveloped. 
The  first  official  notice  of  post  offices  in  the  colonies 
was  in  Massachusetts,  in  1639.  The  system  was  of 
course  primitive,  but  not  so  much  so  as  that  of  Virginia 
in  1657.  New  York  had  a  post  line  between  New  York 
and  Boston  that  ran  as  often  as  once  a  month,  which 
was  a  matter  of  congratulation  in  those  days.  Thirty 
years  later,  it  carried  mail  only  once  in  two  weeks. 
Franklin,  when  postmaster-general  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, made  an  efficient  system,  but  it  fell  into  a  bad  state 
again  when  he  was  removed.  In  1789  there  were  only 
seventy-five  post  offices  where  now  there  are  a  thousand 
times  that  number. 

The  people  of  Rhode  Island,  or  Providence  Planta- 
tions, could  know  little  of  the  people  of  New  Haven  or 
New  York,  and  the  conditions  of  life  in  the  South  were 


132     GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

more  unknown  to  the  average  citizen  of  Portsmouth  or 
Dover  than  the  circumstances  of  people  in  the  interior 
of  China  are  to  us  to-day.  Such  was  the  case,  at  least, 
in  the  early  days  of  the  colonies. 

Difference  in  Political  Conditions,  The  political  con- 
ditions under  which  people  live,  the  extent  to  which 
they  have  self-government,  have  much  to  do  with  the 
possibility  of  their  agreeing  and  combining  together. 
So  do  their  ideas  about  liberty  and  the  rights  which 
each  individual  ought  to  have.  The  colonies  were  not 
alike  in  regard  to  many  of  these  things.  One  reason 
why  Hooker  insisted  on  taking  his  flock  to  the  Cpnnec- 
ticut  Valley  was  that  he  believed  that  all  the  freemen 
ought  to  have  a  voice  in  the  government.  John  Winthrop 
thought  that  the  people  in  general  ought  to  be  satisfied 
to  leave  matters  in  the  hands  of  the  best  educated  and 
the  so-called  higher  classes.  John  Winthrop  was  an 
aristocrat,  Thomas  Hooker  was  a  democrat.  This  line 
of  difference  was  to  be  found  to  some  extent  in  every 
colony.  Nor  was  that  the  last  of  it.  It  is  fundamental. 
It  made  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  wellnigh 
impossible,  and  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  difference  that 
divides  political  parties  to-day. 

SUMMARY 

The  colonies  to  begin  with  were  v£ry  small  and  separate. 
They  were  mainly  English  in  their  process  of  growth,  and  had 
many  differences  in  religion,  race,  customs,  and  ideas.  There 
was  little  communication  between  them,  and  few  opportunities 
for  the  interchange  of  ideas. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

GROWTH   OF    UNION 

Union  of  Slow  Growth.  It  is  probably  clear,  from 
what  has  been  said,  that  these  colonies  would  not  join 
together  unless  compelled  by  necessity,  and  that  each 
thought  so  much  of  itself  that  even  if  thus  united  for  a 
time  they  would  soon  separate  again.  We  can  be  sure, 
too,  that  when  they  once  began  to  unite,  it  would  be  a 
very  long  time  before  they  would  be  satisfied  finally  to 
join  themselves  together. 

The  Indians,  Dutch,  and  French.  During  early 
colonial  times  there  was  one  ever  present  danger :  the 
colonies  were  surrounded  by  hostile  Indian  tribes.  The 
attitude  of  the  whites  toward  the  red  men  was  often 
harsh  and  unjust.  Young  Indian  boys  were  sold  into 
slavery,  and  the  tribes  dispossessed  of  their  lands.  The 
effect  upon  a  proud  and  courageous  people  was  inevi- 
table, and  they  more  than  once  threatened  to  wipe  the 
colonies  out  of  existence.  The  colonies  were  scattered 
and  weak,  and  were  obliged  to  combine  for  protection, 
whether  they  wanted  to  or  hot. 

Then,  too,  the  Dutch  had  settled  in  New  York,  and 
had  thus  thrust  themselves  in  like  a  wedge  between  the 
northern  and  southern  colonies.  They  began  to  encroach 
on  Connecticut,  and  pushed  as  far  north  as  Albany, 
thus  cutting  into  territory  which  Massachusetts  claimed 
by  her  charter.  Besides  the  Dutch,  there  were  the 
French  on  the  north,  always  hostile,  and  always  a 
threatening  cloud  on  the  horizon  of  the  colonies. 


134    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

A  union  might  not  have  seemed  necessary  if  England 
could  have  protected  the  colonies.  But  Englishmen 
were  dividing  into  two  hostile  parties  in  the  civil  war 
between  Charles  I.  and  many  of  his  people.  These 
dangers  brought  it  about  that  in  1643  the  New  England 
Confederation  was  formed  "  for  mutual  help  and  strength 
in  all  our  future  Concernments,"  as  they  said. 

New  England  Confederation. ^  Only  Massachusetts 
Bay,  Plymouth,  New  Haven,  and  Connecticut  joined 
together.  Rhode  Island  was  not  allowed  to  join,  neither 
were  the  towns  on  the  Maine  coast.  People  who  differed 
from  the  others  so  widely  in  religion  and  other  things 
as  did  the  Rhode  Islanders  were  not  worthy  of  consid- 
eration. As  for  the  Maine  towns,  one  of  them  had  actu- 
ally elected  a  tailor  to  the  office  of  mayor,  and  it  seemed 
to  John  Winthrop,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  that 
people  so  democratic  as  that  would  be  almost  as  danger- 
ous as  Roger  Williams  and  his  Rhode  Islanders.  This 
early  union,  therefore,  was  a  very  small  one,  and  did 
not  bring  even  all  of  New  England  together.  The  con- 
federation was  of  the  loosest  description,  but  it  had  a 
constitution  called  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and 
it  taught  the  lesson  of  the  benefits  of  union.  It  soon 
ceased  to  act,  and  became  practically  dead  ;  but  when 
King  Philip's  War  broke  out,  in  1675,  the  danger  that 
threatened  the  very  life  of  the  colonies  drove  them 
together  again,  and  revived  the  union  for  a  short  time. 

Other  Schemes  of  Union.  From  the  year  1684,  when 
the  last  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  under  the  New 
England  Confederation  was  held,  to  the  Convention  of 
1787,  there  were  many  schemes  of  union  put  forward. 
All  of  them  were  interesting,  some  were  curious,  and  all 
ought  to  be  read.  The  attempts  at  union  were  from  two 
^  See  Fiske,  Beginnings  of  New  England,  ch.  iv. 


GROWTH   OF   UNION  135 

standpoints,  from  without  the  colonies  and  from  within. 
While  the  colonists  themselves  were  at  different  times 
putting  forward  schemes  of  union,  the  English  govern- 
ment was  trying  to  consolidate  them  by  taking  away  the 
charters  and  making  all  royal  colonies  under  one  gov- 
ernor. This  was  in  substance  what  the  much  hated 
Governor  Andros  was  trying  to  do,  and  might  have  ac- 
complished if  the  Revolution  of  1688  had  not  prevented. 

William  Penn  took  an  interest  in  this  question  of  union 
and  had  a  plan  of  his  own,  which  he  called  **  A  Briefe 
and  Plaine  Scheame  how  the  English  Colonies  in  the 
North  parts  of  America,  Viz  :  Boston,  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia  and  Carolina  may  be  made  more  useful  to  the 
Crowne  and  one  anothers  peace  and  safety  by  an  univer- 
sal con-currence."  ^  This  was  in  1697.  There  were  other 
plans.  That  of  Robert  Livingston,  of  New  York,  in 
1 701,  and  that  of  Daniel  Coxe,  of  New  Jersey,  in  1722, 
although  not  the  only  ones,  are  good  examples.  These 
were,  however,  private  expressions  of  opinion  rather 
than  anything  else. 

Albany  Plan  of  Union.  As  we  have  seen,  the  hos- 
tility of  the  French  in  the  north  had  something  to  do 
with  the  formation  of  the  New  England  Confederation. 
That  hostility  increased  as  the  years  went  by,  and  led  to 
several  wars  and  Indian  massacres.  It  came  to  a  head 
about  1 754  in  what  is  known  as  the  Old  French  War,  or 
the  French  and  Indian  War,  in  which  Washington  pro- 
minently figured  for  the  first  time.  In  the  New  World 
it  was  a  struggle  between  France  and  England  to  see 
which  should  have  the  continent  of  North  America. 
Naturally,  it  was  a  bitter  struggle,  and  one  of  great  con- 
cern to  the  English  colonies.  Here  again  the  pressure 
1  American  History  Leaflets^  No.  14,  p.  3. 


136    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

of  necessity  brought  out  plans  of  union  which  repre- 
sented real  needs  and  inclinations.  By  1754  Benjamin 
Franklin,  one  of  the  greatest  Americans  of  any  time,  had 
become  prominent  in  every  good  work.  It  is  interesting 
to  find,  therefore,  that  he,  most  of  all,  is  responsible  for 
the  Albany  plan  of  union,  adopted  by  a  convention  at 
Albany  in  July,  1754.  Another  plan  was  proposed  at 
the  same  time  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Peters.  Both  the  Peters 
plan  and  Franklin's  "  Short  Hints  "  ^  should  be  read,  as 
well  as  the  Albany  plan  itself,  which  was  the  outcome  of 
the  two.  One  month  later  the  English  government  drew 
up  a  plan  for  the  general  cooperation  of  the  English 
colonies.  It  was  too  late,  however,  and  never  came  to 
anything. 

The  Albany  plan,  also,  came  to  nothing,  being,  as  has 
so  often  been  said,  too  democratic  for  the  English  gov- 
ernment and  too  monarchical  for  the  colonies.  The 
Albany  convention  was,  however,  a  very  important  step 
toward  final  union,  because  it  brought  together  in  some 
sort  of  agreement  representatives  from  most  of  the  col- 
onies as  far  south  as  Maryland. 

Change  in  England's  Attitude.  The  English  Parlia- 
ment did  not  make  any  decided  attempts  to  assert  and 
maintain  its  authority  over  the  colonies  until  after  the 
French  and  Indian  War.  But  the  cost  of  that  war  was  so 
great,  and  the  burden  of  taxation  in  England  so  heavy, 
that  Parliament  determined  to  assert  its  authority  and  tax 
the  colonies.  This  was  diregtly  contrary  to  the  ideas  that 
the  colanies  had  always  held.  They  had  not  changed  in 
this  regard,  even  if  England  had.  From  the  beginning, 
too,  they  had  with  good  reason  claimed  all  the  rights 
that  belonged  to  Englishmen.     One  of  these  was  that 

1  For  Franklin's  plan,  with  comments  by  himself,  see  Old  South 
Leaflets^  No.  9. 


GROWTH   OF   UNION  13/ 

no  one  could  tax  them  except  the  representatives  they 
elected  for  that  purpose.  They  had  exercised  this  power 
over  taxation  against  royal  governors  for  many  years. 
Now  they  saw  it  suddenly  denied  them.  The  English 
people  did  not  understand  this  feeling  at  all.  They 
thought  the  colonies  were  represented  in  Parliament ; 
but  the  English  ideas  about  representation  were  very 
different  from  those  that  had  grown  up  in  America. 
The  English  system  was  representation  by  classes  of 
people.  The  clergy  were  represented,  the  nobility  were 
represented,  so  were  the  counties  and  boroughs.  But 
the  great  majority  of  Englishmen  had  no  vote  for  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Parliament  which  taxed  them,  and  they  felt 
that  the  colonies  were  as  much  represented  as  they  were. 

There  were  no  classes  in  the  colonies,  and  the  method 
of  representation  by  classes  was  impossible.  The  very 
manner  of  settlement  in  separate  small  communities  had 
caused  representation  by  population  to  become  the  ap- 
proved method.  In  this  respect  as  well  as  in  regard  to 
the  supremacy  of  Parhament,  England  and  the  colonies 
had  grown  steadily  farther  apart. 

The  Stamp  Act  Congress.^  In  1765  Parliament  as- 
serted its  right  to  tax  the  colonies  by  passing  the  Stamp 
Act,  which  required  a  revenue  stamp  upon  legal  docu- 
ments, commercial  instruments,  newspapers,  etc.  This 
produced  so  great  a  sense  of  danger  in  the  colonies 
that  it  forced  them  together  again  in  the  Stamp  Act 
Congress.  This  was  held  in  New  York  in  October  of 
1765.  All  of  the  colonies  supported  this  congress,  but 
four  did  not  send  delegates.  The  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act  by  Parliament  settled  the  difficulty  for  a  time,  and 

1  For  an  account  of  the  various  meetings  which  prepared  the  way 
for  the  Revolution  and  for  union,  see  Fiske,  American  Revolution^ 
i.  ch.  i. 


138    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

although  this  congress  did  nothing  but  draw  up  petitions 
to  the  king  and  a  declaration  of  rights,  it  is  evident 
that  the  idea  of  union  was  gradually  spreading,  and  that 
the  number  of  colonies  uniting  was  gradually  increasing. 

Other  Methods  of  Taxation.  Parliament  had  no 
intention  of  giving  up  the  struggle.  The  colonies  had 
never  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  Parliament  except 
as  to  the  regulations,  taxes,  and  duties  necessary  for  car- 
rying on  the  commercial  system  of  Great  Britain,  the 
revenues  from  which  went  to  support  the  navy  that  pro- 
tected colonial  as  well  as  British  commerce. 

Parliament  now  attempted  to  increase  taxes  of  this 
kind,  and  added  other  features,  not  taxes,  that  were  very 
unwise.  But  the  Americans  at  once  shifted  their  ground 
and  denied  the  right  of  Parliament  to  lay  taxes  or  duties 
of  any  kind  whatever.  For  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that 
Parliament  was  using  this  as  a  method  of  raising  general 
revenue.  One  thing  led  to  another,  and  the  struggle 
grew  more  and  more  bitter  until  the  battles  of  Lexing- 
ton, Concord,  and  Bunker  Hill.  We  are  all  familiar 
with  the  story  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  the  Boston  Tea 
Party,  and  the  Four  Intolerable  Acts.  But  we  are  less 
familiar  with  other  occurrences  during  this  troubled 
period  that  had  much  to  do  with  drawing  the  colonies 
nearer  to  a  final  union. 

New  Steps  toward  Union :  Circular  Letter,  and  Non- 
Importation  Agreements.  Even  at  this  time  (1770-75) 
communication  between  the  colonies  was  slow  and  diffi- 
cult. There  was  little  interchange  of  ideas  between  the 
colonies  and  little  knowledge  of  one  another.  Now  that 
the  final  and  greatest  peril  confronted  all  the  colonies 
alike,  the  question  was,  how  to  get  around  this  great 
barrier  to  a  common  purpose  and  to  common  action. 
Samuel  Adams  is  the  one  who  in  the  main  solved  the 


GROWTH    OF    UNION  139 

problem.  During  the  winter  of  I'j^j-G^  the  Massachu- 
setts Assembly  voted  a  Circular  Letter,  drawn  up  by- 
Samuel  Adams,  which  told  plainly  the  stand  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  regard  to  Parliament's  laying  any  taxes  at 
all.  This  letter,  which  suggested  that  the  colonies  act 
together,  was  sent  to  the  other  colonial  assemblies. 
Although  forbidden  to  do  so,  they  took  up  the  cause 
of  Massachusetts  and  made  it  their  own.  This  Circular 
Letter  was  one  step,  at  least,  toward  concerted  action. 
Virginia  did  something  like  this  in  connection  with  her 
Virginia  Resolves  in  1769.  In  the  same  year,  after  the 
Assembly  of  Virginia  had  been  dissolved,  the  Burgesses 
signed  an  agreement  not  to  use  or  import  any  goods 
upon  which  Parliament  had  laid  a  tax.  George  Wash- 
ington and  Thomas  Jefferson  both  had  a  part  in  this, 
although  it  was  really  a  revolutionary  proceeding.  Vir- 
ginia persuaded  the  other  colonies  to  adopt  a  similar 
plan,  "  boycotting  "  English  goods.  These  Non-Importa- 
tion Agreements  were  another  step  toward  union. 

Committees  of  Correspondence.^  Soon  after  the  Bos- 
ton Massacre  Samuel  Adams  organized  town  Commit- 
tees of  Correspondence  throughout  Massachusetts.  By 
means  of  these  he  spread  information  as  to  what  the 
acts  of  the  British  government  really  meant.  They 
formed  also  the  best  means  attainable  for  concerted  ac- 
tion. This  method  soon  spread  over  the  colonies,  and 
after  the  Boston  Tea  Party,  under  the  lead  of  Virginia, 
all  of  the  colonies  formed  permanent  Colonial  Commit- 
tees of  Correspondence, — another  and  a  long  step  to- 
ward union  ;  the  machinery  for  concerted  action  was  now 
at  hand. 

First  Continental  Congress.     The  First  Continental 

1  On  the  importance  of  Committees  of  Correspondence  in  making 
the  Revolution  possible,  see  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Unions  p.  57. 


140    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Congress  followed  naturally  in  1774,  after  Parliament 
had  suspended  the  operation  of  the  Massachusetts  Char- 
ter and  passed  the  Quebec  Act.  The  time  was  nearing 
when  the  colonies  would  take  the  final  step  toward 
union,  and  would  allow  the  central  congress  to  make  laws 
for  all.  The  First  Continental  Congress,  however,  did 
not  have  that  power,  but  it  is  significant  that  many  of 
the  delegates  to  it  were  chosen  by  the  committees  of 
correspondence,  or  by  conventions,  or  by  people  of  the 
towns  and  counties.  It  is  easy  to  be  seen  that  the  people 
were  assuming  control.  This  congress  did  one  thing 
that  had  a  direct  bearing  on  unity  of  action.  It  formed 
an  American  Association  to  see  that  no  British  goods 
were  imported  into  or  consumed  in  the  colonies.  They 
advised  that  each  town  or  county  appoint  a  committee 
for  this  purpose,  to  be  supervised  by  the  Colonial  Com- 
mittees of  Correspondence.  The  colonies  were  thus 
covered  with  a  network  of  revolutionary  organizations, 
reaching  down  into  every  county  and  township.  There 
was,  however,  one  thing  yet  lacking,  and  that  was  a 
permanent  central  congress. 

Second  Continental  Congress.  The  First  Conti- 
nental Congress  adjourned  in  October,  1774,  but  before 
adjourning  it  provided  for  a  second  congress,  to  meet  in 
May,  1775,  if  the  troubles  with  the  mother  country  were 
not  settled  before  that  time.  The  battles  of  Lexington 
and  Concord  were  fought  in  April,  1775,  and  when  the 
Second  Continental  Congress  met  it  found  itself  in  a 
very  different  position  from  that  of  the  congresses  of 
1765  and  1774.  The  new  congress,  like  the  old,  had  no 
authority  to  make  war,  or  pass  laws,  or  carry  on  gov- 
ernment, but  something  had  to  be  done,  and  that,  too,  at 
once.  It  therefore  assumed  authority  to  carry  on  the 
government  of  the  colonies  as  a  whole,  and  proceeded 


GROWTH   OF   UNION  141 

to  take  measures  necessary  to  prosecute  the  war.  It  per- 
formed other  acts  that  only  a  central  government  could 
perform.  We  have,  therefore,  the  one  thing  that  was 
lacking  to  make  a  unified  organization  of  the  colonies, 
having  some  sort  of  permanence.  For  this  Second 
Continental  Congress  lasted,  practically  speaking,  until 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  went  into  effect. 
Nor  did  the  colonies  rebel  against  a  central  government 
which  assumed  powers  that  had  never  been  granted  it. 
By  common  consent  they  justified  this  action.  Once 
more  peril  from  without  had  forced  the  colonies  into  a 
union  which  was  to  give  way  only  to  one  that  should 
prove  itself  the  strongest  in  history. 

"Written  Constitutions.  The  Second  Continental^ 
Congress  had  hardly  begun  its  sessions  before  Franklin 
drew  up  a  systematic  plan  of  a  federal  government,  or, 
in  other  words,  a  written  constitution.  All  of  the  colo- 
nies, too,  in  changing  from  colonies  into  states,  seemed 
to  think  it  necessary  to  have  written  constitutions.  This 
drawing  up  of  written  constitutions  by  congress  and  by 
conventions  or  legislatures  of  eleven  different  states^ 
was  one  of  the  most  important  happenings  in  the  history 
of  government.  A  written  document  which  says  what 
powers  and  duties  the  legislature  and  officers  of  the  state 
shall  have  was  a  great  advance  in  the  science  of  govern- 
ment. Mr.  John  Fiske  says  :  "  Almost  everything  else 
in  our  fundamental  institutions  was  brought  by  our  fore- 
fathers in  a  more  or  less  highly  developed  condition  from 
England ;  but  the  development  of  the  written  constitu- 
tion, with  the  consequent  relation  of  the  courts  to  the 
lawmaking  power,  has  gone  on  entirely  upon  American 
soil." 

1  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  used  their  charters  as  constitu- 
tions. 


142     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Origin  of  Written  Constitutions.  The  origin  of 
written  constitutions  must  be  sought  in  the  distant  past, 
and  the  development  is  too  complicated  for  us  to  study 
now.  But  let  us  remember  that  a  charter  was  a  kind  of 
contract ;  so  is  a  constitution.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
Great  Charter  (Magna  Charta)  is  in  a  sense  a  constitu- 
tion, but  colonial  charters  come  much  nearer  being  con- 
stitutions. This  is  easily  seen  when  we  remember  that 
the  charters  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  served  as 
constitutions  without  substantial  change  for  many  years 
after  the  United  States  Constitution  was  adopted. 

The  Pilgrims  in  the  Mayflower  foreshadowed  a  writ- 
ten constitution,  and  in  Connecticut  in  1639  the  first 
popular  written  constitution  ever  known  was  adopted.^ 
The  main  mover  in  this  was  Thomas  Hooker,  whose 
democratic  notions  in  part  led  to  his  removal  from  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay.  This  constitution  was  known  as  the 
•'  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,"  and  it  embodied 
the  ideas  of  Hooker.  "  Under  it  the  people  of  Connec- 
ticut lived  for  nearly  two  centuries  before  they  deemed 
it  necessary  to  amend  it."  The  New  England  Confed- 
eration had  a  kind  of  constitution,  the  Albany  Plan  of 
Union  contained  one,  and  the  moment  the  Second  Con- 
tinental Congress  assumed  the  authority  of  a  law-making 
and  law-executing  body,  a  constitution  for  its  regulation 
was  thought  necessary. 

Articles  of  Confederation.  The  constitution  formed 
by  the  Second  Continental  Congress,  called  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  was  adopted  by  Congress  in  1777.  The 
articles  were  not  to  be  binding  until  ratified  by  all  the 
states.     So  jealous  were  the  latter  of  one  another  that  in 

1  For  an  account  of  the  written  constitution  of  the  Athenian  oli- 
garchy at  the  close  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  see  Botsford,  History 
of  Greece^  p.  231. 


GROWTH   OF   UNION  143 

Spite  of  the  great  need,  the  new  union  did  not  go  into 
effect  until  the  war  was  almost  over.^  Before  the  war 
began  they  had  thought  of  themselves  as  separate  and 
independent  colonies  joined  together  through  the  king. 
In  America  there  was  no  bond  of  union  between  them. 
Each  had  its  own  legislature  and  courts,  and  the  powers 
that  they  believed  the  king  to  possess  were  small. 
After  the  war,  everything  was  left  as  before  except  the 
king.  Now,  the  people  set  Congress  in  place  of  the 
king,  and  gave  it  very  nearly  the  same  powers.  Yet  so 
hostile  had  they  become  to  all  central  authority  that  they 
were  hostile  to  this  one  of  their  own.  They  therefore 
failed  to  give  Congress  powers  absolutely  necessary  to  a 
working  scheme  of  government.  There  was  no  system 
of  courts  and  no  executive  except  a  committee  of  Con- 
gress ;  there  was  no  adequate  means  provided  for  raising 
revenue  by  the  central  government,  and  no  government 
can  be  run  without  revenue.  Congress  could  not  enforce 
its  authority  upon  the  states  or  upon  individuals,  arid 
therefore  states  and  individuals  paid  little  attention  to 
it.  The  result  was  that  when  the  pressure  of  war  was 
removed  the  government  fell  into  contempt,  and  the 
union  seemed  about  to  perish. 

It  seems  strange  at  first  that  men  of  so  much  ability 
should  have  made  so  weak  a  government.  But  we  must 
remember  that  they  had  no  experience  to  guide  them  ; 
"never  before  had  anyone  even  tried  to  formulate  a 
scheme  of  government  for  such  a  federation."  ^  When 
we  compare  this  attempt  at  union  with  those  that  pre- 
ceded it,  it  is  clear  that  an  enormous  advance  was 
made.  The  national  idea  had  been  born,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  "  was  one  of 

1  See  Fiske,  The  Critical  Period^  chs.  iii.  and  iv. 

2  Channing,  Students^  History  of  the  United  States^  p.  240. 


144    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

the  half  dozen  most  important  events  in  the  history  of 
the  United  States."  ^  How  difficult  it  was  to  form  even 
this  union  becomes  clear  when  we  understand  that  it 
took  nearly  four  years  to  get  the  Articles  adopted  by  all 
the  states.^ 

Decline  of  the  Confederation.  It  became  evident 
very  soon  that  the  new  government  was  not  strong 
enough  for  the  needs  of  the  time.  It  was  a  period  of 
singular  unrest  and  fermentation.  The  war  had  broken 
up  old  ideas  and  led  to  the  rise  of  new  ones.  There  was 
almost  universal  discontent.  Dissatisfaction  led  to  fric- 
tion and  change.  The  lot  of  the  mechanic  and  laboring , 
man  had  been  a  pitiable  one  before,  and  the  war  had 
made  it  worse.  The  farmers  had  good  crops,  but  could 
get  nothing  for  them.  The  men  had  been  in  the  army, 
the  women  and  children  had  been  obliged  to  care  for  the 
farms,  and  fences  were  down,  houses  and  buildings  out 
of  repair,  and  fields  grown  up  with  underbrush.  The 
stock  had  been  driven  off  or  killed,  and  the  family  had 
run  into  debt  in  order  to  keep  alive.  There  were  no 
manufactures,  and  the  English  navy  had  cut  off  com- 
merce. There  was  no  demand  for  labor,  as  there  was 
nothing  to  do.  The  returned  soldier,  farmer  or  mechanic, 
had  no  money,  because  his  pay,  if  he  got  any,  was  in 
poor  currency.  He  found  debts  when  he  returned  home, 
and  nothing  to  pay  them  with.  His  creditors  pressed 
him,  and  perhaps  sent  him  to  a  debtor's  prison.  The 
prisons  were  full,   and  the  wretched   people  in   them 

^  Channing,  p.  240. 

2  One  cause  of  delay  was  the  claims  of  states  to  lands  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains.  These  lands  were  finally  ceded  to  the 
central  government  to  be  held  by  all  the  states  in  common,  and  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  was  passed  for  the  government  of  the  territory 
north  of  the  Ohio  River. 


GROWTH   OF   UNION  145 

underwent  a  torture  that  is  indescribable.  The  poverty 
of  the  people  was  great.  When  the  courts  tried  to  col- 
lect debts,  the  debtors  resisted,  and  the  courts  were 
intimidated  by  violence.  In  Massachusetts,  a  rebellion 
broke  out,  led  by  Job  Shattuck  and  Daniel  Shays,  that 
was  not  put  down  until  bloodshed  ensued.  Massachu- 
setts had  to  raise  an  army,  and  even  Boston  was  put  in 
a  state  of  defence. 

Congress  found  it  impossible  to  make  the  states  keep 
the  treaty  of  peace,  especially  in  regard  to  the  Tories 
and  the  payment  of  British  debts.  As  soon  as  the  war 
ended,  the  persecution  of  Tories  began.  The  bitterest 
of  feeling  between  them  and  the  Whigs  had  grown  out 
of  the  six  years  of  strife.  The  Tories  were  hunted  like 
wild  beasts.  Some  fled  to  Florida  and  Bermuda,  some 
to  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia.  Many  went  to  England. 
Riots  were  frequent,  and  Tories  were  tarred  and  feath- 
ered. "  It  was  noted  with  no  small  pleasure  that  a 
vessel  carrying  seven  hundred  of  the  fever  stricken 
Tories  had  gone  to  pieces  off  the  New  England  coast, 
and  scarce  a  soul  been  saved. ^  In  the  South,  where  the 
feeling  was  the  bitterest,  many  were  shot  or  hanged. 
The  whole  tendency  of  affairs  was  dangerous  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  Congress  began  secretly  to  prepare  for  civil 
war. 

Then,  too,  the  states  quarrelled  among  themselves 
over  the  taxes  and  restrictions  laid  by  each  upon  com- 
merce. Each  state  had  the  control  of  commerce  in  its 
own  hands,  and  selfishly  tried  to  further  its  own  inter- 
ests by  vexatious  and  unjust  restrictions  upon  its  neigh- 
bors. Congress  attempted  to  get  amendments  adopted 
that  would  make  the  Articles  of  Confederation  work- 
able.    But  when  the  Articles  of   Confederation    were 

1  McMaster,  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States^  i.  114. 


146    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

drawn  up,  amendments  were  made  practically  impossi- 
ble by  requiring  that  every  state  should  ratify  before 
they  became  valid.  In  the  existing  condition  of  suspi- 
cion and  discontent  this  was  impossible.  Congress  fell 
lower  and  lower  in  the  esteem  of  the  people,  and  degen- 
erated into  a  debating  club.  Some  states  would  not 
send  delegates,  and  for  a  considerable  time  Delaware 
and  Georgia  were  not  represented.  There  were  seldom 
fwenty-five  delegates  present,  and  Congress  was  obliged 
to  adjourn  day  after  day  for  want  of  a  quorum.  It  was 
insulted  and  badgered  by  drunken  troops  and  reviled 
by  the  press.  It  wandered  like  an  Ishmaelite  from 
Philadelphia  to  Princeton,  from  Princeton  to  Annapolis, 
from  Annapolis  to  Trenton,  and  from  Trenton  to  New 
York.  No  wonder  men  like  Washington,  Madison,  and 
Hamilton  were  in  despair.  Two  courses  were  open : 
to  drift  on  into  anarchy  and  civil  war,  or  to  throw  away 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  make  a  new  constitu- 
tion. 

SUMMARY 

The  growth  toward  union  in  the  colonies  was  very  slow  and 
difficult  on  account  of  the  facts  noted  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter. But  the  need  of  common  action  for  self-defence  caused 
four  of  the  New  England  colonies  to  form  a  loose  confederacy 
In  1643.  It  lasted  only  till  1684.  During  the  one  hundred 
years  following,  various  schemes  of  union  were  proposed. 
The  most  important  steps  toward  union  during  this  time  were, 
[a)  the  Albany  Congress  and  Plan  of  Union,  1754;  {b)  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress,  1765 ;  {c)  the  First  Continental  Congress, 
1774,  and  (d)  the  Second  Continental  Congress,  1775-1788. 

When  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted  in  1781, 
a  long  step  toward  union  was  taken ;  but  the  government 
under  it  was  extremely  weak,  owing  to  the  refusal  of  the 
states  to  give  adequate  powers  to  the  national  government. 
Things  went  from  bad  to  worse,  until  men  saw  that  the  con* 
stitution  must  be  changed  or  anarchy  would  result. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

GENESIS    OF   THE    CONSTITUTION  ^ 

Diflaculty  in  Changing  a  Constitution.  If  we  should 
become  dissatisfied  with  our  Constitution,  and  should 
want  peaceably  to  overthrow  it,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
tell  how  to  do  it.  If  we  called  a  convention  for  that 
purpose,  we  might  get  into  serious  trouble.  We  could 
not  expect  Congress  to  favor  such  action,  nor  the 
President,  nor  any  one  in  office,  because  men  do  not 
like  to  give  up  holding  office.  This  was  about  the  posi- 
tion of  the  people  who  in  1786-87  wanted  a  new  Consti- 
tution. Congress  could  not  be  expected  to  head  such  a 
movement,  because  it  would  throw  its  members  out  of 
office.  But  the  men  who  wanted  a  change  were  sincere 
patriots,  and  they  got  at  the  matter,  although  it  had  to 
be  done  in  a  roundabout  way. 

Trouble  over  Commerce.  If  we  look  on  the  map,  we 
shall  see  that  the  Potomac  River  and  Chesapeake  Bay 
afforded  opportunity  for  large  commerce  with  Maryland 
and  Virginia.  The  tariffs  or  taxes  levied  by  these 
states  upon  traffic  were  not  uniform,  and  this  led  to 
endless  strife.  In  order  to  settle  the  difficulty,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  by  commissioners  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia in  1785,  at  Washington's  residence.  When  they 
got  to  talking  the  matter  over  it  became  very  evident 

1  On  the  general  subject  excellent  supplementary  material  will  be 
found  in  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  i.  19-31  ;  and  Fiske. 
Critical  Period,  chs.  v.-vii. 


148    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

how  much  better  it  would  be  to  have  the  same  commer- 
cial regulations  for  all  states  having  to  do  with  trade 
coming  through  the  Chesapeake  and  adjacent  waters.  If 
we  look  on  the  map  again,  we  shall  see  that  many  of  the 
states  were  situated  in  regard  to  one  another  as  Mary- 
land and  Virginia  were.  The  upshot  of  the  meeting  at 
Washington's  residence  was  that  a  meeting  of  commis- 
sioners for  all  the  states  was  called  at  Annapolis  to  con- 
sider trade  and  commerce  for  the  whole  country. 

Annapolis  Convention.  There  were  only  a  few  dele- 
gates present  at  the  opening  of  the  conference,  and 
they  did  not  wait  to  transact  business,  nor  until  other 
delegates  already  on  their  way  could  get  there.  They 
called  another  convention  at  Philadelphia  in  1787.  This 
time  it  was  not  to  consider  trade  and  commerce,  but  to 
consider  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  make  them 
"  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union."  This  was 
the  result  of  the  work  of  Madison  and  Hamilton,  who 
for  a  long  time  had  been  laboring  for  a  convention  to 
alter  the  government.  It  had  been  proved  that  amend- 
ment to  the  Articles  in  the  ordinary  way  was  impossi- 
ble, and  Congress  must  have  known  that  some  radical 
change  would  result.  Could  Congress  be  persuaded  to 
indorse  a  convention  that  might  greatly  alter  its  powers 
or  take  away  its  right  to  exist }  It  would  have  been 
doubtful  if  the  convention  had  been  called  with  the  open 
purpose  of  throwing  over  the  Articles ;  but  at  this  time 
there  were  only  a  few  who  had  a  settled  purpose  to 
make  a  new  government.  It  would  have  been  doubtful 
any  way,  if  Madison  had  not  been  a  member  of  Congress. 
With  the  aid  of  Hamilton,  he  persuaded  Congress  to 
recommend  that  the  states  send  delegates  to  the  Phila- 
delphia convention. 

The  Federal  Convention.     The  convention  that  met 


GENESIS   OF   THE   CONSTITUTION  I49 

at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable in  history.  The  states  realized  the  gravity  of 
the  situation,  and  chose  almost  without  exception  their 
strongest  men.  This  meant  much,  for  the  United  States 
at  this  time  had  among  its  citizens  an  unusually  large 
number  of  men  of  great  power.  Their  work  there 
immortalized  them,  and  the  document  which  they  drew 
up  has  proved  to  be  beyond  doubt  the  most  remark- 
able of  its  kind  ever  known.  Rhode  Island  refused 
to  send  delegates,  and  was  not  represented.  All  other 
states  had  delegates  present  at  some  time  during  the 
sitting  of  the  convention.  Washington  did  not  at  first 
expect  to  attend,  but  Shays's  Rebellion  and  other  occur- 
rences frightened  him  as  to  the  condition  of  the  country, 
and  he  was  present  and  became  the  president  of  the  con- 
vention. Benjamin  Franklin,  although  an  old  man,  was 
there  also,  for  if  by  any  chance  Washington  could  not 
preside,  there  was  only  one  other  man  in  the  colonies  in 
whom  all  had  absolute  confidence,  and  that  was  Frank- 
lin. Washington  and  Franklin  soothed  many  a  conten- 
tion, and  settled  many  a  difference.  Their  support  of 
the  Constitution  was  of  great  weight  in  the  eyes  of  many 
who  otherwise  might  have  opposed  it.  The  convention 
held  secret  meetings,  and  met  daily  from  May  28,  1787, 
until  September  17  of  the  same  year.  Madison,  careful 
and  methodical,  made  copious  notes  of  the  proceedings, 
which  were  not  published,  however,  until  long  afterward, 
and  no  one  will  ever  know  many  things  that  were  said 
and  done  during  the  convention. 

Different  Plans  of  Government.  When  the  mem- 
bers were  ready  for  serious  work,  the  first  thing  of  vital 
importance  to  be  settled  was  whether  they  should  merely 
revise  the  Articles  of  Confederation  or  make  an  entirely 
new  Constitution.     The  Virginia  delegates  and   many 


ISO    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Others  were  in  favor  of  a  new  Constitution  and  a  strong 
central  government.  Madison  had  been  the  main  mover 
in  drawing  up  a  plan  for  a  new  government,  which  was 
presented  to  the  convention  by  one  of  the  Virginia  dele- 
gates, and  called  the  Virginia  Plan.^  This  plan  would 
have  given  the  large  states  greater  influence,  and  natu- 
rally the  convention  divided  into  two  parties  on  the 
question.  The  representatives  of  the  small  states  who 
objected  to  so  strong  a  central  government  brought  in  a 
plan  of  their  own,  which  was  introduced  by  Paterson, 
of  New  Jersey,  and  was  called  the  New  Jersey  Plan.  It 
provided  for  the  continuance  of  the  existing  government 
under  the  Articles,  but  gave  Congress  the  power  to  lay 
and  collect  taxes,  regulate  commerce,  and  compel  the 
states  to  obey  its  command.  It  was  necessary,  then,  to 
decide  which  of  these  plans  to  adopt  as  a  basis. 

After  a  heated  struggle  the  Virginia  Plan  was  adopted, 
and  with  some  changes  it  determined  in  great  measure 
the  form  of  our  Constitution.  Before  the  Constitution 
could  be  made  satisfactory  to  the  convention  several 
compromises  had  to  be  agreed  upon.  When  these  had 
been  made,  many  of  those  who  had  voted  for  the  New 
Jersey  Plan  strongly  favored  the  new  Constitution,  for 
there  had  grown  up  a  deep  and  widespread  distrust  of 
the  Articles  of  Confederation.  After  the  substance  of 
the  different  articles  in  the  Constitution  was  agreed  upon, 

^  It  was  presented  to  the  convention  by  Edmund  Randolph,  who 
was  made  the  spokesman  of  the  Virginia  delegation,  because  he  was 
at  the  time  the  governor  of  the  state.  The  Virginia  Plan  is,  on  this 
account,  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  Randolph  Plan,  but  there  is 
no  evidence  that  Randolph  was  its  author.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  many  facts  which  go  to  show  that  Madison  had  thought 
out  most  of  the  points  embraced  in  the  Virginia  Plan  before  the 
convention  met.  He  is,  therefore,  properly  regarded  as  its  prin- 
cipal author. 


GENESIS   OF   THE   CONSTITUTION  151 

the  whole  document  was  handed  over  to  Gouverneur 
Morris  to  put  into  shape,  and  the  simple  language  and 
clear  style  are  in  the  main  due  to  him. 

The  Constitution  submitted  to  the  States.  It  was 
one  thing  for  the  convention  to  make  a  Constitution,  and 
another  thing  to  get  it  adopted.  The  men  who  drew  it 
up  were  few  in  number  and  had  the  advantage  of  a 
secret  session  undisturbed  by  outside  influences.  The 
states  that  had  to  ratify  it  were  scattered  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Georgia,  and  every  possible  influence  was 
brought  to  bear  for  and  against  the  Constitution.  Rhode 
Island  had  not  been  represented  at  all,  and  of  course 
would  not  like  the  Constitution.  Two  of  the  three  New 
York  delegates  had  left  in  anger  because  the  convention 
seemed  likely  to  favor  the  large  states,  for  New  York 
was  then  a  small  state.  Hamilton  was  known  to  be  in 
favor  of  a  government  so  centralized  as  to  greatly  dimin- 
ish local  self-government.  This  frightened  people  as  to 
the  Constitution  which  he  supported  with  such  vigor  and 
ability.  Many  of  those  who  had  favored  the  New  Jersey 
Plan  supported  the  Constitution  with  reluctance,  and  in 
fact  no  one  was  really  satisfied.  Several  delegates  re- 
fused to  sign  at  all.  One  of  the  Maryland  delegates  had 
left  in  disgust.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Franklin,  who 
made  an  eloquent  and  persuasive  speech,  Gerry  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  Mason  and  Randolph  of  Virginia,  al- 
though present,  finally  refused  to  sign.  These  men, 
we  must  remember,  were  from  the  two  most  important 
states.  What  chances  of  adoption  had  a  Constitution 
under  these  circumstances  ?  It  certainly  did  look  dark, 
and  the  friends  of  the  new  government  felt  it ;  but 
Washington  and  Franklin,  Madison  and  Hamilton,  were 
towers  of  strength.  Probably  the  strongest  argument 
in  favor  of  the  new  Constitution  was  that  the  choice  lay 


152    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

betwen  the  Constitution  and  disunion,  and  anything  was 
better  than  disunion. 

Unauthorized  Acts  of  the  Convention.  Congress 
had  indorsed  the  call  for  a  convention  at  Philadelphia, 
but  had  only  given  the  convention  authority  to  propose 
amendments  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Articles  themselves,  the  consent  of  every  state 
was  necessary  for  the  adoption  of  amendments,  and 
Congress  expected  that  this  consent  would  be  obtained. 
But  occurrences  after  the  convention  was  called  had 
greatly  increased  the  alarm  over  the  state  of  the  coun- 
try, and  when  it  met  the  few  who  desired  a  new  Consti- 
tution had  become  many.  The  convention,  therefore, 
proceeded  to  do  two  things  that  were  beyond  its  author- 
ity, unconstitutional  and  revolutionary,  (i)  It  voted  at 
once  that  "a  national  government  ought  to  be  estab- 
lished." (2)  It  afterwards  proposed  a  method  of  ratifi- 
cation entirely  opposed  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
and  to  the  wishes  of  Congress,  namely,  that  when  nine 
states  (instead  of  thirteen)  ratified  the  Constitution  it 
should  be  binding  upon  those  ratifying. 

Ratification  of  the  Constitution.  The  whole  action 
illustrates  the  fact  that  constitutions  become  as  waste 
paper  when  they  no  longer  suit  the  needs  of  a  people, 
that  the  real  power  resides  in  the  people,  and  that  when 
they  will  they  can  take  matters  into  their  own  hands. 
Congress  seemed  to  recognize  this,  and  with  true  patri- 
otism carried  out  the  wishes  of  the  convention  as  to  rati- 
fication. It  transmitted  the  Constitution  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  each  state,  and  called  for  a  convention,  elected  in 
each  state  by  the  people,  to  act  upon  it.  By  June,  1788, 
eight  states  had  ratified.  The  conventions  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Virginia  came  in  June,  and  it  was  a  time 
of  great  suspense.     "The  period  extending  from  the 


GENESIS   OF   THE   CONSTITUTION     «^      153 

publication  of  the  report  of  the  convention  to  the  ratifi- 
cation of  New  Hampshire  and  Virginia  .  .  .  was  one 
of  the  most  critical  and  momentous  in  the  history  of 
America."  ^  In  June  New  Hampshire  and  Virginia  rati- 
fied, but  with  some  difficulty  and  by  a  close  vote.  This 
made  ten  states,  more  than  enough  to  put  the  Constitu- 
tion into  effect.  New  York  ratified  in  July.  This  left 
only  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island,  which  were  not 
a  part  of  the  Union  when  Washington  was  inaugurated 
and  the  new  government  began.  North  Carolina  did 
not  reject  the  Constitution,  but  Rhode  Island  did.  Her 
legislature  refused  to  call  a  convention  to  ratify,  but  sub- 
mitted the  Constitution  to  the  various  town  meetings. 
Only  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  persons  voted  for  it 
and  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eight  against  it. 
It  was  not  until  May,  1790,  that  Rhode  Island  finally 
entered  the  Union.  Three  states  voted  unanimously  in 
favor  of  the  Constitution,  but  in  several  states,  notably 
New  York,  the  result  was  very  doubtful.  There  ratifi- 
cation was  brought  about  only  by  the  greatest  exertions 
of  Hamilton  and  others,  and  the  vote  stood  thirty  to 
twenty-seven. 

Influences  for  and  against  the  New  Constitution. 
One  great  influence  in  carrying  ratification  in  the 
states  was  a  series  of  essays  written  by  Hamilton, 
Madison,  and  Jay,  on  what  the  Constitution  was  and 
what  it  proposed  to  accomplish.  These  essays  together 
are  called  "The  Federalist,"  and  ought  to  be  read  by 
every  one  who  wishes  to  understand  our  Constitution 
thoroughly. 

Men  like  Patrick  Henry,  who  were  true  patriots,  op- 
posed the  Constitution,  partly,  at  least,  because  it  did  not 
definitely  state  the  rights  belonging  to  the  people.  This 
1  Channing's  History^  p.  272. 


154    (3t)VERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

objection  was  widespread,  and  had  large  influence  in 
the  contest  over  ratification,  and  many  of  the  states, 
although  ratifying,  recommended  amendments  covering 
the  rights  of  the  people.  The  first  Congress  proposed 
twelve  such  amendments,  and  ten  of  them  were  promptly 
ratified  and  went  into  effect  in  1791.  These  ten  amend- 
ments are  often  called  a  Bill  of  Rights,  and  refer  to  the 
separation  of  church  and  state,  freedom  of  the  press, 
right  of  petition,  and  other  safeguards  of  personal  lib- 
erty. The  original  Constitution,  then,  as  framed  by 
the  convention,  was  never  practically  tried,  but  it  is  this 
Constitution  with  the  ten  articles  added  under  which 
the  nation  has  developed. 

The  Constitution  put  into  Effect.  As  soon  as  Con- 
gress knew  that  nine  states  had  ratified,  it  passed  a  reso- 
lution setting  a  day  for  choosing  electors,  and  finally  for 
putting  the  new  Constitution  into  effect.  The  place 
designated  was  New  York,  where  Congress  was  then  sit- 
ting, and  the  time  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  which 
happened  to  be  the  fourth  of  the  month.  Therefore 
the  fourth  of  March  has  ever  since  been  the  day  for  the 
beginning  of  a  new  administration.^ 

There  is  an  oft-repeated  story  about  Franklin  which 
is  worthy  of  being  retold  as  long  as  our  Constitution  is 
of  interest.  Upon  the  back  of  the  chair  in  which 
Washington  sat  when  he  presided  over  the  convention 
a  rising  sun  had  been  painted.  As  the  last  members 
were  signing,  and  Franklin  saw  his  hopes  fulfilled,  he 
said  to  those  about  him  that  it  was  often  difificult  to 
distinguish  in  a  picture  a  rising  from  a  setting  sun.     *'  I 

1  Washington  did  not  take  the  oath  of  office  and  begin  his  ad- 
ministration until  April  30,  1789.  Procrastination  and  the  uncer- 
tainties of  travelling  in  that  age  prevented  the  assembly  of  a  quo- 
rum of  both  houses  of  Congress  before  that  time. 


GENESIS    OF   THE   CONSTITUTION  155 

have,"  said  he,  "  often  and  often,  in  the  course  of  the  ses- 
sion, and  the  vicissitudes  of  my  hopes  and  fears  as  to  its 
issue,  looked  at  that  behind  the  President  without  being 
able  to  tell  whether  it  was  rising  or  setting ;  but  now,  at 
length,  I  have  the  happiness  to  know  that  it  is  a  rising 
and  not  a  setting  sun."  ^  The  venerable  man,  whose 
life  had  been  so  full  of  benefits  to  his  country  and  man- 
kind, was  certainly  a  true  prophet. 

SUMMARY 

The  first  step  toward  a  new  Constitution  was  taken  in  1785, 
when  commissioners  from  Virginia  and  Maryland  met  at 
Mount  Vernon  to  consider  questions  relating  to  commerce. 
This  meeting  led  to  a  convention  at  Annapolis  in  1786,  and 
this  in  turn  to  the  famous  Constitutional  Convention  at 
Philadelphia  in  1787. 

In  this  convention  several  different  plans  of  government 
were  proposed,  and  it  was  only  after  a  great  struggle  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  adopted.  Even 
greater  difficulties  attended  its  ratification  in  several  of  the 
states  ;  but  it  was  finally  adopted  by  a  sufficient  number,  and 
put  in  operation  in  April,  1789. 

SUGGESTIONS   AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  What  things,  according  to  your  observation  of  local  politics, 
tend  to  separate  people  into  parties  or  factions  ? 

2.  Are  there  communities  in  your  state,  county,  or  township 
which  have  few  dealings  with  one  another  and  tend  to  dislike  one 
another  ?  If  so,  can  you  account  for  the  condition  on  religious 
grounds  ;  on  social  or  racial  grounds ;  on  geographical  grounds  ? 

3.  The  town  of  Castle  Rock  (see  page  37)  has  two  rivers  which 
flow  through  it  and  join  together  in  the  adjoining  town.  Years  ago 
the  people  of  the  two  valleys  disliked  one  another,  and  had  few 

1  Fiske's  Civi/  Government^  p.  307. 


156    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

dealings.     What  reason  does  the  map  show  for  this?     Consider 
especially  ease  of  communication. 

4.  Give  illustrations  of  the  way  in  which  religious,  social,  and 
political  ill  feeling  hinder  progress  by  preventing  beneficial  com- 
mon action  among  men  of  to-day.  Is  this  spirit  of  separateness 
wholly  bad  ?     If  not,  what  are  some  of  its  benefits  ? 

5.  We  have  spoken  of  religious  differences  among  the  colonies 
as  tending  to  make  union  difficult.  Can  you  think  of  rehgious  con- 
ditions which  would  have  made  union  altogether  impossible  ? 

6.  What  is  the  effect  of  common  language  on  the  question  of 
united  action  among  men  ?     Illustrate  your  answer. 

7.  Religion,  language,  and  law  have  been  called  the  greatest 
means  of  securing  unity  among  men.  According  to  this  test,  were 
the  colonies  destined  to  separation  or  to  union  ? 

8.  Classify  the  reasons  for  disunion  among  the  colonies  under 
these  heads:  social;  economic;  geographical.  Which  was  most 
fundamental  ? 

9.  Suppose  that  New  Netherland  had  contained  500,000  people 
in  1664,  would  that  fact  have  had  any  bearing  on  the  question  of 
ultimate  union  among  the  colonies  ? 

10.  The  Germans  have  a  motto,  "  Beyond  the  mountains  there 
are  also  men."  What  is  its  social  significance  ?  Can  it  be  applied 
to  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  colonies.?  Is  a  range  of  moun- 
tains a  more  effectual  barrier  to  social  intercourse  than  a  broad 
river,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  or  a  belt  of  forest  land  ? 

11.  What  is  the  social  importance  of  road  improvement  mea- 
sures ? 

12.  If  forests  and  uninhabited  tracts  between  colonies  were  a 
means  of  keeping  them  apart,  what  would  have  been  the  effect  of 
a  large  increase  of  population  ? 

13.  Suppose  that  the  Revolutionary  War  had  not  come,  would  it 
have  been  possible  for  the  thirteen  American  colonies  to  remain 
permanently  separated  ? 

14.  Show  how  the  development  of  the  North  differed  from  that 
of  the  South.  Consider  soil,  climate,  products,  labor,  trades,  and 
commerce. 

15.  Look  up  the  condition  of  roads,  travel  upon  the  water,  etc., 
during  colonial  times.  See  McMaster,  History  of  the  American 
People,  vol.  i. 

16.  Illustrate,  from  facts  connected  with  your  own  locality,  how 
a  common  danger  serves  to  draw  people  together.  Cases  of  danger 
from  Indians  would  be  in  point;  possibly  others  might  be  given. 


GENESIS    OF   THE   CONSTITUTION  15/ 

17.  Show  from  recent  American  history  that  a  war  has  great 
influence  in  uniting  people.  Show  from  the  Civil  War  that  it  may 
have  just  the  opposite  result.  What  conclusions  can  you  draw  as 
to  the  kind  of  war  that  unites,  and  the  kind  that  creates  a  feeling 
of  disunion  ? 

18.  Read  the  Franklin  Plan  of  Union,  with  the  author's  com- 
ments, in  Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  9.  What  evidence  does  it  con- 
tain on  the  difficulties  of  communication  between  the  colonies  ? 

19.  Is  there  a  stamp  act  in  operation  now?  If  so,  is  it  a  state  or 
a  national  act?  Is  it  effective  ?  Is  it  just  ?  Is  it  easy  to  collect  ? 
Why  did  the  stamp  act  of  1765  have  such  a  peculiar  history  ? 

20.  Is  the  method  of  "  boycotting  "  used  at  present,  and  if  so, 
under  what  circumstances  is  it  resorted  to  ? 

21.  Samuel  Adams  has  been  called  "  the  man  of  the  town  meet- 
ing." How  is  the  phrase  justified  ?  In  what  way  did  the  township 
system  influence  the  formation  of  committees  of  correspondence? 
See  Hosmer,  Samuel  Adams,  American  Statesmen  series. 

22.  What  significance  is  there  in  the  name  "  Continental  Con- 
gress "  ? 

23.  Read  the  Agreement  of  the  People,  Old  South  Leaflets,  No. 
26.  Was  this  a  written  constitution  ?  Did  it  ever  go  into  operation  ? 
What  ideas  does  it  contain  which  are  familiar  to  Americans? 

24.  Read  the  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,  Fiske's  Civil 
Government.  Does  the  document  create  a  confederacy  or  a  cen- 
tralized government  ?  Compare  its  provisions  with  those  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation. 

25.  Was  the  Mayflower  compact  a  constitution  ?  Did  it  create 
a  government  of  three  departments,  or  provide  any  "  frame  of  gov- 
ernment "  at  all  ? 

26.  Read  the  Articles  of  Confederation  in  Fiske's  Civil  Govern- 
ment, or  the  Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  2.  What  division  of  powers 
did  they  make  as  between  the  states  and  the  national  government  ? 
Was  there  any  executive  or  judiciary  separate  from  the  legislature  ? 
How  were  the  members  apportioned  among  the  states  ?  Was  this 
method  of  apportionment  necessary  in  a  confederation  ? 

27.  The  representatives  in  the  continental  congress  have  been 
likened  to  ambassadors  of  thirteen  nations.  What  justification  is 
there  for  this  simile  ?  Do  ambassadors,  when  they  hold  a  "  con- 
gress," legislate  for  their  combined  countries,  or  make  agreements  ? 

28.  Why  did  the  western  lands  constitute  a  bond  of  union  among 
the  confederated  states  ?     How  did  the  states  as  a  whole  expect  to 


158     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

benefit  from  them?     See   Fiske's  Critical  Period^  or  Hinsdale, 
The  Old  Northwest. 

29.  Read  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  Old  South  Leaflets,  No.  13. 
What  ideas  does  it  contain  that  are  also  found  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  ?  What  important  clauses  does  it  contain  on 
the  subject  of  education  ?  How  have  they  influenced  popular  edu- 
cation ?  Did  the  ideas  originate  with  the  makers  of  the  Ordinance  ? 
See  page  45. 

30.  Suggest  such  amendments  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
as  you  think  might  have  made  it  an  efficient  instrument  of  govern- 
ment without  destroying  the  character  of  the  confederation  ?  See 
account  of  the  New  Jersey  Plan,  page  150.  Did  it  supply  such 
amendments  as  would  probably  have  been  successful  ? 

31.  Why  did  Maryland  refuse  to  ratify  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration unless  the  other  states  would  give  up  claims  to  western 
lands  ? 

32.  Why  did  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  and  the  First  Continental 
Congress  need  no  written  constitution  ? 

33.  Webster  in  his  renly  to  Hayne  {Riverside  Literature  Series, 
No.  122,  page  217)  gave  expression  to  the  sentiment,  "Liberty 
and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable."  Does  the 
meaning  of  this  sentiment  receive  illustration  and  point  from  the 
events  of  the  confederation  period.?  Webster  did  not  seek  to 
"penetrate  the  veil"  which  hid  disunion  from  his  eyes,  but  he 
thought  that,  could  he  do  so,  he  should  behold  "  states  dissevered, 
discordant,  belligerent ;  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or  drenched 
in  fraternal  blood."  Read  the  entire  speech  and  try  to  determine 
what  historical  and  logical  justification  there  is  for  the  great  ora- 
tor's statements.    (This  is  for  advanced  students  only.) 

34.  Read  the  Virginia  Plan  (Madison's  Jotirnat).  What  things 
in  it  were  embraced  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ? 

35.  James  Madison  has  often  been  called  "the  father  of  the  Con- 
stitution."    Ls  the  distinction  justly  conferred  ?     Give  reasons. 

36.  What  reasons  were  there  for  making  all  sessions  of  the  con- 
vention of  1787  secret.? 

37.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  people  who  lived  on  the  seaboard 
were  generally  in  favor  of  the  Constitution,  while  those  living  in 
the  interior  of  the  country  showed  a  majority  against  it.  Can  you 
give  any  reason  for  this?  Think  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  idea 
that  a  Constitution  was  needed  to  replace  the  Articles  of  Confeder- 


GENESIS  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION  159 

ation,  and  also  think  of  the  different  occupations  and  interests  of 
the  people  of  the  seaboard  and  the  interior. 

38.  Why  was  the  Constitution  submitted  to  conventions  in  the 
states  for  ratification  rather  than  to  the  state  legislatures? 

39.  Suppose  that  Rhode  Island  had  persisted  in  her  refusal  to 
accept  the  Constitution,  what  would  have  been  the  result  upon  the 
Union  as  a  whole  ? 

40.  Suppose  that  New  York's  vote  had  stood  twenty-seven  to 
thirty  instead  of  thirty  to  twenty-seven,  what  effect  would  that  fact 
have  had  upon  the  formation  of  the  Union  ? 

Note.  —  With  a  copy  of  Madison's  Journal  of  the  Proceedings 
of^he  Constitutional  Convention,  and  of  Eliot's  Debates^  a  very 
profitable  series  of  exercises  can  be  planned  for  advanced  students. 
They  may  be  asked  to  find  out  the  opinions  of  certain  men  upon 
any  of  the  subjects  discussed ;  to  see  how  close  the  vote  was  on 
some  provisions,  or  at  least  how  general  the  sentiment  was,  for  or 
against ;  they  may  study  the  evolution  of  any  particular  article  or 
section  of  the  Constitution. 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   CONSTITUTION 

Dual  Government  ^  in  the  United  States.  Most  of 
the  people  in  the  United  States  are  subject  to  two  gov- 
ernments, each  supreme  in  its  sphere,  the  national  gov- 
ernment and  the  state  government.  This  peculiarity  is 
not  a  matter  of  choice,  but  a  result  of  development.  The 
manner  in  which  the  colonies  were  settled  and  developed 
produced  thirteen  units.  When  the  new  Constitution 
was  about  to  be  framed,  it  was  evident  to  all  that  no  sys- 
tem would  be  practicable  for  a  moment  that  did  not  leave 
these  units,  to  a  great  extent,  separate  and  independent. 
In  them  had  to  be  left  the  supreme  power  over  local  gov- 
ernment. Thus  came  the  part  of  our  dual  system  which 
we  call  the  state  government. 

But  experience  under  the  Confederation  showed  the 
states  that  they  could  not  entirely  trust  their  welfare  and 
the  preservation  of  a  civilized  society  to  individual  state 
governments,  each  separate  from  and  independent  of  the 
others.  .  The  second  part  of  the  dual  system,  a  powerful 
national  government,  was  plainly  necessary.  To  have  a 
union  of  any  strength,  each  state  must  give  up  some  of 
the  powers  it  would  exercise  if  it  were  independent,  as  it 
practically  was  under  the  Confederation.  What  it  would 
have  to  give  up  would  naturally  be  those  powers  that  ex- 
perience had  shown  would  bring  the  states  into  conflict 
with  one  another,  and  with  the  central  government.  A 
1  See  Bryce,  i.  15-18,  35,  36. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  l6l 

study  of  the  Constitution  will  show  that  such  powers  are 
expressly  granted  to  Congress,  and  in  many  cases  ex- 
pressly prohibited  to  the  states.  The  determination  of 
the  relations  between  state  and  national  government  was, 
probably,  the  most  difficult  problem  before  the  conven- 
tion. In  solving  it  the  members  of  the  convention 
solved  what  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  in  the 
science  and  art  of  government. 

This  double  feature  must  be  thoroughly  understood 
before  one  can  get  a  clear  idea  of  just  what  the  Constitu- 
tion aimed  to  do.  There  is  no  such  dualism  in  England. 
There  are  English  counties,  townships,  and  boroughs, 
but  no  combination  of  them  into  states  with  large  inde- 
pendent powers.  There  is  no  such  dualism  in  France, 
although  it  is  a  republic.  Substantially  all  the  powers 
of  government  down  to  the  smallest  local  divisions  are 
exercised  by  the  central  government  at  Paris.  This 
dualism  did  not  seem  strange  to  the  makers  of  the  Con- 
stitution. They  had  been  used  to  practically  the  same 
thing  in  their  experience  as  colonists.  The  central  gov- 
ernment, with  a  few  definite  but  limited  powers,  was  in 
the  king  and  Parliament.  There  the  sovereignty  lay. 
But  in  matters  of  local  government  the  colony  was 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  independent. 

Diflaoulty  in  Adjustment.  The  difficulty  which  the 
leaders  in  the  convention  of  1787  found  was  the  adjust- 
ment of  these  two  systems  of  government  without  the 
destruction  of  either  one.  The  liberty  of  the  individual 
citizen  depended  in  large  measure  upon  the  right  of  com- 
plete local  self-government.  The  remarkable  ability  for 
self-government  shown  by  Americans  has  depended  in 
large  measure  upon  the  constant  use  of  their  opportuni- 
ties in  this  direction.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to 
arrange  the  system  so  that  states  should  be  protected 


l62     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

from  decay  and  secured  in  their  powers  over  local  gov- 
ernment. It  would  have  been  a  calamity  if  the  powers 
of  self-government  in  the  local  division  from  state  to 
township  had  been  in  any  way  impaired.  For  after  all 
our  greatness  as  a  people  and  a  race  has  come  from  that 
power  of  self-government  which  our  Teutonic  forefathers 
had  while  they  were  yet  savages  in  the  forests  of  Ger- 
many. Many  delegates  to  the  convention  saw  this  in  a 
general  way,  and  felt  very  anxious  on  the  subject  of  local 
independence.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  just  as  clear 
to  the  delegates  that  their  liberty  and  power  of  self-gov- 
ernment would  amount  to  little  while  anarchy  or  civil  war 
stared  them  in  the  face.  They  saw  that  the  safety  and 
dignity  of  the  states  and  all  local  units  depended  upon  a 
central  government  that  should  have  the  authority  and 
ability  to  compel  states  and  individuals  to  refrain  from 
those  acts  that  would  lead  to  anarchy  or  civil  war. 

Separation  into  Departments.  Experience  led  the 
makers  of  the  Constitution  to  divide  the  government  into 
three  parts,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  Some- 
times all  the  powers  of  government  are  united  in  one 
man  or  one  body  of  men.  This  gives  the  best  opportu- 
nity for  injustice  and  tyranny.  As  society  has  developed 
there  has  been  a  strong  tendency  to  separate  the  powers 
of  government,  and  to  make  them  more  or  less  independ- 
ent of  one  another.  One  part  is  thus  a  check  upon 
another,  and  any  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  the 
people  in  a  government  thus  organized  is  more  difficult. 

In  England  there  were  the  crown,  the  Parliament,  and 
the  courts  of  law.  In  the  colonies  there  was  a  more  or 
less  distinct  line  between  the  departments  of  govern- 
ment. The  departments  defined  in  the  Constitution  are 
not  entirely  separate  ;  all  get  their  authority  from  the 
Constitution  and  are  equal  in  that  respect ;  one  cannot 


THE   CONSTITUTION  163 

rightfully  usurp  the  powers  of  another,  but  each  acts  as 
a  check  upon  the  others,  and  a  given  department  is  not 
wholly  confined  in  its  action  to  its  own  sphere.  The 
executive  takes  part  in  the  law-making ;  Congress 
performs  certain  executive  acts  and  sits  as  a  court ;  the 
judiciary  has  a  check  upon  the  law-making  body,  but 
is,  of  all  departments,  the  most  nearly  distinct  and  inde- 
pendent. 

Delegated  and  Implied  Powers.  Two  classes  of 
powers  are  exercised  by  the  central  government  under 
the  Constitution,  —  delegated  and  implied  powers.  From 
the  time  of  the  first  settlements  the  several  colonies 
exercised  many  independent  powers  of  government  re- 
lating to  local  rights,  which  the  development  of  the  col- 
ony made  necessary,  and  which  English  peoples  had 
always  exercised.  But  the  new  central  government  had 
no  powers  that  had  thus  grown  up  with  it.  Its  powers 
were  given  or  delegated  to  it  by  the  states.^  These  dele- 
gated powers  are  definite ;  they  can  be  named,  counted, 
and  set  down  in  a  list ;  they  differ  radically  from  the 
powers  that  grew  up  with  the  colonies,  which  are  indefi- 
nite and  include  everything  not  specifically  "delegated." 

It  was  impossible,  however,  to  enumerate  in  the  Con- 
stitution every  act  that  the  national  government  might 

1  There  has  been  much  controversy  as  to  who  delegated  these 
powers  to  the  national  government.  The  preamble  to  the  Constitu- 
tion says,  "  We  the  people  of  the  United  States."  Did  this  mean 
the  people  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  or  the  people  of  each 
separate,  individual  one  of  the  United  States  ?  The  latter  meaning 
seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  enacting  clause  which  follows  the  in- 
strument and  precedes  the  signatures  ;  this  reads :  "  Done  in  con- 
vention by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  states  present."  What- 
ever it  may  have  meant  once,  through  the  inexorable  logic  of  his- 
toric events  it  has  come  to  mean  now  the  people  of  the  United 
States  as  a  whole. 


l64     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

have  the  right  to  do  in  order  to  exercise  these  delegated 
powers.  Many  of  its  powers,  therefore,  depend  upon  a 
reasonable  construction  of  what  the  makers  of  the  Con- 
stitution meant  to  have  the  central  government  do  ; 
these  are  called  implied  powers.  The  doctrine  of  im- 
plied powers  was  first  established  and  carried  out  by 
Chief  Justice  Marshall  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  and  one  very  important  work  of  the 
Supreme  Court  has  been  to  determine  cases  depending 
upon  these  implied  powers  of  the  central  government. 

The  Constitution  a  Growth,  not  a  Creation.  The 
men  who  drew  up  the  Constitution  were  practical  men, 
and  did  not  rely  very  much  upon  theory.  In  almost 
everything  they  relied  upon  experience  in  determining 
what  to  do.  They  got  their  ideas  from  the  history  of 
the  colonies,  from  their  experiences  under  the  Confedera- 
tion, from  the  Albany  Plan  of  Union,  and  from  the  New 
England  Confederation.  The  Constitution,  then,  was  the 
result  of  long  evolution.  Every  attempt  at  union,  every 
instrument  of  government  from  the  Connecticut  Fun- 
damental Orders  down  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
had  a  bearing  upon  the  great  Constitution  under  which 
we  live.i  The  process  of  evolution  goes  back  even  far- 
ther than  that.  It  takes  in  the  development  of  English 
liberty  and  government.  It  was  not  **  struck  off  at  a 
given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man,"  as  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  ;  but  it  has  proceeded  from  progressive 
history  as  much  as  the  British  constitution.  It  has  given 
America  the  great  advantage  of  having  a  written  public 
law,  separate  from  ordinary  legislation,  to  which  all  acts 
of  the  law-making  body  must  conform.  It  made  it  neces- 
sary to  have  a  Supreme  Court,  the  greatest  tribunal  in 

*  Read  and  compare  the  Fundamental  Orders  and  the  Articles 
of  Confederation. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  165 

the  world,  to  determine  whether  the  acts  of  ordinary 
legislation  do  so  conform.  Nor  is  it  a  revised  version  of 
the  British  constitution,  as  some  have  seemed  to  think. 
Its  development  has  been  its  own,  and  as  different  from 
that  of  the  British  constitution  as  the  life  of  America 
has  been  different  from  the  life  of  England.  Our  Con- 
stitution, therefore,  was  not  made  ;  it  grew. 

The  Constitution  still  Growing.^  Not  only  was  the 
Constitution  of  1787  a  growth,  but  it  has  been  growing 
ever  since.  It  was  made  for  four  millions  of  people  who 
occupied  a  mere  fringe  of  eastern  North  America.  It 
answers  just  as  well  for  eighty  millions  who  have  spread 
over  the  continent.  It  was  made  for  eighteenth  century 
conditions,  before  the  great  developments  in  science,  in 
manufacturing,  in  commerce,  in  industry ;  before  the 
growth  of  cities  ;  before  the  building  of  railroads,  canals, 
telephones  ;  before  the  rise  of  corporations  and  the  great 
accumulations  of  wealth.  It  stands  the  enormous  strain 
that  changed  conditions  bring,  and  seems  to  be  as  well 
adapted  to  our  day  as  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  It  was  made  before  the  United  States  had  a 
territory  ;  under  it  nearly  forty  territories  have  been 
organized,  and  most  of  them  have  grown  into  states.  It 
was  made  for  peace  ;  it  has  stood  the  strain  of  four  wars, 
one  of  them  a  civil  war  of  vast  proportions.  It  was 
made  for  a  United  States  whose  furthermost  boundary, 
it  was  thought,  would  be  the  Mississippi  ;  under  it  the 
United  States  have  expanded  to  the  Pacific,  have  taken 
Alaska,  and  passed  the  bounds  of  the  North  American 
continent.  It  was  made  for  a  simple  civilization ;  it 
does  for  a  complex  civilization.  These  changes  have 
made  necessary  new  constructions  of  the  Constitution 
and  alterations  in  its  form  by  amendments.  The  Con- 
^  Bryce,  i.  391-399- 


l66    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

stitution  drawn  up  by  the  convention  and  ratified  by  the 
states  was  practically  never  in  operation.  Changes  in 
its  written  form  began  at  once.  The  latest  change,  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  was  made  in  1870,  and  there  is 
a  possibility  of  a  new  one  in  the  near  future. 

The  Unwritten  Constitution.^  We  should  also  bear 
in  mind  that  alongside  of  the  written  has  grown  up 
an  unwritten  Constitution,  which  has  changed  many 
features  of  the  Constitution  and  is  as  powerful  and  as 
binding  as  any  part  of  the  written  document.  The  .real 
life  of  the  Constitution  is  in  its  unwritten  parts,  in  the 
construction  placed  upon  its  provisions  by  the  courts 
and  by  Congress,  and  in  the  construction  which  the  will 
of  the  people  and  the  political  necessities  of  a  growing 
nation  have  made  inevitable.  The  written  Constitution 
is  a  sort  of  framework  within  which  methods  of  doing 
things  may  shift  back  and  forth  to  suit  the  needs  of  the 
times.  It  is  the  unwritten  part  that  enables  our  Con- 
stitution to  reflect  accurately  the  changing  Hfe  of  the 
people ;  without  this  possibility  of  growth  and  change, 
it  could  hardly  have  lasted  until  the  civil  war.  The  pos- 
sibility of  an  unwritten  Constitution  is  due  to  the  doc- 
trine of  implied  powers.  Jefferson  said  that  Chief  Jus- 
tice Marshall  and  the  Supreme  Court  were  making  a 
new  Constitution  by  means  of  the  implied  powers  of  the 
Constitution.     He  was  right. 

It  will  be  found  in  general  that  the  changes  which 
the  unwritten  Constitution  has  brought  have  tended  to 
break  down  the  barriers  to  direct  control  by  the  people. 
The  framers  of  the  document  prescribed  a  method  of 
electing  president  and  vice-president  that  should  secure 
the  election  against  the  direct  action  of  the  people. 
But  an  unwritten  law  has  grown  up  that  has  nullified 
1  Bryce,  i.  393-396- 


THE   CONSTITUTION  167 

the  written  act,  and  has  given  into  ^  the  hands  of  the 
people  direct  and  absolute  control  of  the  elections  of 
president  and  vice-president. 

The  controlling  purpose  of  the  convention  in  provid- 
ing for  the  election  of  senators  by  state  legislatures  was 
to  give,  not  to  the  people  of  the  states,  but  to  the  states 
as  political  units,  the  control  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  Within  a  few  years  we  have  seen  a  movement 
in  favor  of  electing  United  States  senators  by  the  people 
so  strong  that  in  many  states  the  people  practically  de- 
termine the  choice  before  the  legislature  meets. 

Although  the  Constitution  in  no  way  forbids  it,  prob- 
ably no  one  ever  will  be  elected  the  third  time  to  the 
office  of  president  of  the  United  States,  because  there 
seems  to  be  an  unwritten  law  against  a  third  term. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  was  passed  to  make  it 
clear  that  newly  emancipated  slaves  were  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  states  in  which  they  lived. 
It  provided  also  that  if  the  rights  of  these  citizens  to 
vote  were  denied  in  any  state,  the  representation  of  that 
state  in  Congress  should  be  reduced  in  like  proportion. 
But  during  the  last  few  years  we  have  seen  constitutions 
adopted  in  several  southern  states  practically  forbid- 
ding negroes  to  vote.  Congress  has  not  reduced  the 
representation  of  these  states  in  the  national  legislature, 
nor  to  all  appearances  will  it  ever  do  so. 

If  we  refer  back  to  the  difficulty  over  ratification  of 
the  Constitution,  we  shall  recall  that  many  states  hesi- 
tated because  there  was  no  bill  of  rights  in  the  Constitu- 
tion. The  first  ten  amendments  were  afterward  passed 
as  such  a  bill  of  rights,  guaranteeing  to  the  people  those 
rights  regarded  as  natural  and  individual.  But  as  the 
United  States  has  grown  and  civilization  has  become 
more  complex,  the  tendency  has  been  more  and  more 


l68    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

to  reduce  the  number  of  these  rights  or  to  impair  them, 
although  sacredly  guarded  by  the  Constitution.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  upheld  acts 
that  were  an  impairment  of  such  rights,  and  the  tend- 
ency has  grown  very  strong  for  the  central  govern- 
ment of  the  nation  to  invade  and  control  rights  that  had 
been  looked  upon  as  natural  and  individual. 

The  Constitution  is,  then,  not  entirely  the  set  words 
and  phrases  written  by  Gouverneur  Morris  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  convention.  It  is  what  by  actual  opera- 
tion the  people  have  made  it,  and  upon  their  character 
it  depends  for  what  it  really  is.  A  constitution  is  not 
an  end  in  itself,  but  a  means  to  an  end  ;  and  that  end 
is  the  security  of  life,  liberty,  and  property,  and  the 
opportunity  of  each  individual,  as  a  part  of  society,  to 
develop  his  powers  to  the  fullest.  It  must  conform  to 
the  expanding  needs  that  new  conditions  bring,  or  be 
thrust  aside  as  were  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 
Happily  for  us,  the  framers  of  our  Constitution  were  men 
of  sufficient  wisdom  to  make  it  the  embodiment  of  gen- 
eral fundamental  principles,  leaving  the  details  of  their 
application  to  be  worked  out  as  new  conditions  might 
suggest.  There  is,  therefore,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  no 
limit  to  its  expansion  and  change  as  to  methods  and 
details,  so  long  as  the  fundamental  principles  on  which 
the  government  was  founded  endure.  If  the  time  ever 
comes  when  these  principles  cease  to  be  binding,  some 
other  convention  may  meet  to  draw  up  for  the  people 
of  that  period  a  new  Constitution. 

Nature  of  the  Union  under  the  Constitution.^  As 
we  have  seen,  the  Second  Continental  Congress  as- 
sumed and  exercised  powers  not  granted  to  it.    In  some- 

1  See  Channing,  Students'  History  of  the  United  States,  p.  259, 
and  following. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  *  169 

what  the  same  way  the  convention  of  1787  assumed 
authority  not  granted  to  it.  Its  members  overthrew  the 
constitution  then  in  use,  i.  e.y  the  Articles,  and,  Uke  peo- 
ple who  thought  that  they  represented  those  in  whom 
the  ultimate  power  rested,  went  ahead  with  an  entirely 
new  order  of  things.  When  they  adopted  the  Virginia 
Plan  as  the  basis  of  their  action,  they  certainly  intended 
to  set  in  motion  a  national  or  federal  system  with  a 
strong  central  government.  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
said :  "From  these  conventions  [which  ratified  the  Con- 
stitution] the  Constitution  derives  its  whole  authority." 
The  people  left  to  the  states  certain  powers,  granted  to 
the  central  government  other  powers,  and  prohibited 
still  others  to  the  states  and  to  the  central  government. 

When  the  conventions  in  the  various  states  ratified 
the  Constitution,  could  they  ever  recall  their  ratification 
and  withdraw  from  the  Union  "i  Those  who  thought 
that  the  states  were  sovereign  said  they  could.  Those 
who  thought  the  people  as  a  whole  were  sovereign  said 
they  could  not  without  the  consent  of  the  rest.  This 
was  the  difficulty  which  led  to  the  civil  war. 

It  has  been  said,  and  probably  with  truth,  that  if  the 
states  had  thought  when  they  were  passing  upon  the 
Constitution  that  they  could  never  withdraw,  many 
would  not  have  ratified.  The  idea  that  states  could  not 
withdraw,  and  that  the  Union  was  indestructible,  was 
a  matter  of  growth.  It  flourished  as  the  United  States 
flourished,  and  became  stronger  with  the  passing  of 
every  decade.  The  growth  in  population  and  territory, 
the  increase  in  the  power  and  influence  of  the  central 
government,  the  necessary  extension  of  its  departments, 
brought  nearer  and  nearer  the  day  when  it  would  be 
strong  enough  to  maintain  itself.  Every  year  that 
passed  made  the  people  as  a  whole  more  accustomed  to 


170    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

the  Union,  more  satisfied  with  its  results  ;  every  year 
added  to  the  immensity  of  the  interests  that  depended 
upon  it.  The  question  is,  therefore,  one  of  Httle  mo- 
ment now.  Whatever  the  Constitution  meant  then,  it 
means  now  that  the  Union  is  indestructible.  The  very 
necessity  of  the  growth  of  the  United  States  has  made 
secession  impossible,  although  the  Constitution  itself  is 
not  entirely  explicit  on  that  point.  Men  of  undoubted 
ability,  honesty,  and  patriotism  differed  as  to  what  the 
Constitution  meant  on  this  question ;  so  that  during  the 
civil  war  both  sides  claimed  to  be  following  the  real 
intent  of  the  Constitution.  Both  sides  failed  to  see  that 
it  was  the  growth  of  the  national  idea  that  had  bound 
the  states  together  with  bonds  that  could  not  be  broken. 
The  growth  of  this  idea  still  guarantees  the  Union  against 
disruption.  It  has  been  added  as  an  unwritten  law  to 
the  Constitution,  which  is  as  binding  as  its  most  sacred 
written  provisions,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
greatest  war  of  modern  times  was  fought  about  this 
question,  no  written  amendment  to  the  Constitution  for- 
bidding secession  has  ever  been  deemed  necessary. 

SUMMARY 

The  Constitution  provides  a  double  form  of  government. 
On  the  one  hand  it  secures  to  the  individual  states  the  right 
of  caring  for  all  their  internal  affairs  ;  on  the  other  it  estab- 
lishes a  strong  central  government,  with  full  power  to  manage 
external  aifairs  that  concern  all  the  states,  and  to  keep  peace 
among  the  states. 

The  difficulty  of  adjusting  the  respective  powers  of  the 
states  and  the  central  government  was  exceedingly  great.  It 
came  near  being  too  great  for  the  convention  ;  and  when  the 
Constitution  was  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  states  for 
ratification,  it  was  this  question  of  adjustment  again  which 
made  ratification  so  difficult. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  171 

Finally,  the  question  whether  the  Constitution  created  an 
indestructible  union  of  the  states  has  been  settled  by  the 
course  of  American  history  rather  than  by  the  mere  words  of 
the  Constitution. 

In  many  other  respects  the  written  Constitution  has  been 
added  to  or  has  been  modified  by  the  course  of  events,  so 
that  we  really  have  two  constitutions,  working  side  by  side 
and  supplementing  each  other,  the  one  written,  the  other 
unwritten. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE   FEDERAL   CONGRESS 

Republican  Government.  It  was  easily  seen  that 
the  new  government  must  be  republican  in  form ;  that 
is,  it  must  be  a  government  by  the  representatives  of 
the  people.  A  democratic  form  where  the  people  as  a 
whole  acted,  as  in  a  town  meeting,  was  clearly  impossi- 
ble. Hamilton  and  others  were  charged  with  trying  to 
make  the  new  government  a  monarchy.  Hamilton's 
personal  views  probably  were  that  a  monarchy  achieved 
the  best  results.  But  while  he  did  declare,  "  Sir,  your 
people  is  a  great  beast,"  it  was  evident  to  him  that  under 
the  circumstances  a  government  of  republican  form  was 
necessary.  It  was  in  fact  the  only  form  to  which  the 
people  were  accustomed.  Before  the  war  they  had  a 
king,  to  be  sure,  but  he  was  three  thousand  miles  away 
and  they  never  saw  him.  They  had,  too,  royal  and 
proprietary  as  well  as  charter  or  republican  colonies. 
But  the  people  through  their  assemblies  had  absorbed 
so  much  power  into  their  own  hands  that  government 
in  each  colony  had  become  in  great  measure  republican. 

Congress  of  Two  Houses.^  It  is  strange  that  there 
was  any  opposition  to  a  legislature  of  two  houses. 
Art.  I.,  The  colonies,  in  the  main,  had  been  used  to 
sec.  1.  legislatures   of  two  branches.     Although  not 

necessary,  they  had  established  them  early  after  the 

1  See  Bryce,  i.  183-188. 

2  The  side-headings  refer  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS        173 

pattern  of  the  English  Parliament.  There  were  two 
exceptions  to  this :  Pennsylvania  and  Georgia  had  legis- 
latures of  but  one  house.  The  Congress  under  the  Con- 
federation, too,  had  but  one  house,  but  the  majority  of 
the  convention  were  not  inclined  to  copy  after  so  ineffi- 
cient a  government.  A  second  house  was  looked  upon 
by  some  as  an  obstruction  to  rapid  action.  This  was 
the  very  reason  why  it  was  favored  by  such  conserva- 
tives as  Washington.  The  following  anecdote  of  Wash- 
ington and  Jefferson  illustrates  his  reasons.  Jefferson 
was  dining  with  Washington,  and  severely  criticised  the 
action  of  the  convention  in  deciding  upon  two  houses. 
Washington  favored  the  plan,  and  said  :  "  You  yourself 
have  proved  the  excellence  of  two  houses  this  very 
moment."  Jefferson,  much  surprised,  asked  for  an  ex- 
planation. "You  have,"  said  Washington,  "turned 
your  hot  tea  from  the  cup  into  the  saucer  to  get  it 
cool.  It  is  the  same  thing  that  we  desire  of  the  two 
houses."  This  anecdote  gives  us  not  only  an  idea  of 
the  political  tendencies  of  two  great  men,  but  also  a 
glimpse  of  the  manners  of  that  day.  The  estabUshment 
of  a  national  legislature  of  two  houses  finally  led  to  the 
same  thing  being  done  in  every  state. 

Representation  in  Congress.^     The  three  great  com- 
promises of  the  Constitution  arose  in  connection  with 
the  legislative  part  of  the  government,  and  two    ^^^  j 
of  them  in  connection  with  the  matter  of  rep-   sec.  u., 
resentation.     Under  the  Confederation  repre-   sec.  m., 
sentation  had  been  by  states,  each  state  being   p^""*  '' 
entitled  to  from  two  to  seven  delegates.     Each  state 
had,  however,  but  one  vote.     It  was  early  decided  that 
the  convention  did  not  care  to  follow  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  in  regard  to  representation  in  the  new 
1  See  Fiske,  Critical  Period,  pp.  232-249,  262-267. 


174    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Congress,  as  far  as  the  number  of  delegates  was  con- 
cerned. Nor  did  it  want  the  members  of  Congress  to 
be  subject  to  the  states  in  regard  to  their  salary,  and 
be  liable  at  any  time  to  recall  by  the  states.  Those 
who  wanted  a  national  government  were  strongly  in 
favor  of  representation  in  both  houses  according  to 
population,  but  those  who  feared  a  strong  central  gov- 
ernment wanted  equal  representation  for  the  states  in 
both  houses.  There  was  disagreement  over  popular 
representation  even  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
But  it  was  seen  to  be  vitally  necessary  that  the  new 
government  should  be  in  direct  touch  with  the  people, 
and  for  that  reason  popular  representation  was  insisted 
upon  in  the  House.  Great  efforts  were  made  to  effect 
the  same  result  in  the  Senate,  and  they  seemed  about  to 
succeed. 

After  the  Virginia  Plan,  which  called  for  a  popular 
representation  in  both  houses,  had  been  adopted  as  the 
basis  of  the  new  Constitution,  the  delegates  from  the 
small  states  were  about  to  leave  the  convention.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  whole  project  of  a  new  government 
must  be  abandoned. 

To  satisfy  the  small  states,  it  was  necessary  to  find 
some  method  of  giving  them,  as  political  units,  consid- 
erable and  equal  powers  in  the  new  government.  Here 
again,  when  much  perplexed,  experience  guided  the  con- 
vention. The  Connecticut  delegates  suggested  that 
their  method  of  representation  might  solve  the  problem. 
In  that  state,  the  governor  and  the  upper  house  of  the 
legislature  were  elected  by  the  people  as  a  whole  ;  but 
the  lower  house  was  made  up  of  representatives  from 
the  various  towns,  each  having  the  same  number.  This, 
practically,  was  the  method  adopted  by  the  convention 
as  a  compromise.     The  states,  as  political  units,  were 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS        175 

given  equal  representation  in  the  Senate,  regardless  of 
their  population,  each  being  represented  by  Art.  l,  sec. 
two  senators,  but  in  the  House  the  states  were    aH^t^*^' 1' 

i\ri.  X.,  Scc« 

represented   according   to   population.     Thus  "•»  p^"^-  '• 
resulted  the  first  great  compromise  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. 

Apportionment  of  Representatives.  The  second 
compromise  arose  also  in  connection  with  the  question 
of  representation.  In  apportioning  representatives  ac- 
cording to  population,  the  South  would  be  at  a  great 
disadvantage  unless  slaves  could  be  counted,  because  a 
large  part  of  its  population  were  blacks.  These,  the 
northern  delegates  protested,  were  property,  not  per- 
sons. The  South  contended  that  they  were  persons  as 
well  as  property,  and  ought  to  be  counted.  The  ques- 
tion also  arose  as  to  the  method  in  which  taxes  should 
be  levied  upon  the  states,  whether  according  to  prop- 
erty or  to  population.  The  method  of  assessing  upon 
each  state  its  share  of  the  expenses  of  government 
under  the  Confederation^  had  not  been  satisfactory. 
After  long  discussion,  no  good  method  could  be  found 
except  taxation  according  to  population.  Should,  then, 
the  slaves  be  counted  in  determining  the  population  ? 
The  South  thought  not ;  the  North  thought  they  ought 
to  be  so  counted.  For  many  years  the  colonists  had 
been  saying  that  representation  and  taxation  ought  to 
go  together.  It  became  necessary  to  apply  the  same 
rule  at  this  time.  The  South  agreed  to  have  the  slaves 
counted  in  ascertaining  the  population  for  purposes  of 
taxation,  and  the  North  for  purposes  of  representation. 
But  it  was  deemed  unfair  that  slaves  should  count  as 
much  as  freemen  in  the  basis  of  representation,  and  it 
was  a  hardship  that,  in  the  way  of  taxation,  they  should 
^  Articles  of  Confederation,  Article  VIII. 


176     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

be  counted  as  much  as  freemen  whose  wealth-produc- 
Art.  I.,  sec.  ^^S  power  was  much  greater.  It  was  agreed, 
Amend  ^'  therefore,  as  a  compromise,  that  three  fifths 
mentxiv.,  of  the  slavcs  should  t)e  counted  in  both  in- 
^^'  ^'  stances.  Three  fifths  was  chosen  because  that 
fraction  had  before  been  agreed  upon  by  the  slave  states 
when,  under  the  Articles,  they  had  discussed  changing 
the  basis  of  contribution  by  the  states  to  the  central 
government. 

Slavery.^  The  third  compromise  arose  in  regard  to 
the  power  of  Congress  over  slavery  and  the  slave  trade. 
On  the  part  of  those  who  desired  a  strong  central  gov- 
ernment, there  was  a  firm  determination  to  give  Con- 
gress absolute  control  over  commerce.  Those  who 
favored  slavery  would  not  agree  to  this,  and  insisted 
that  the  power  of  Congress  over  the  slave  trade  should 
Art.  I.  sec.  ^^  limited.  The  result  of  the  discussion  was 
ix.,  par.  I.  the  section  that  forbids  Congress  to  prohibit 
the  slave  trade  before  1808,  although  it  was  authorized 
to  levy  a  tax  of  ten  dollars  per  head  upon  all  slaves 
imported.  This  tax  was  never  levied,  because  the  influ- 
ence of  the  South  in  Congress  was  very  great. 

Representation  and  Bills  of  Revenue.  Connected 
with  the  matter  of  representation  in  the  Senate  and  the 
Art.  I.,  sec.  Housc  was  the  question  as  to  who  should  ori- 
vii.,  par.  I.  gjnate  bills  of  revenue.  When  equal  repre- 
sentation in  the  Senate  was  conceded  to  the  smaller 
states,  the  power  of  originating  bills  of  revenue  was 
given  to  the  House,  but  the  Senate  was  allowed  the 
power  to  make  and  concur  in  amendments.^  Bills  of 
revenue  have  been  construed  to  mean  bills  for  levying 

1  For  a  good  brief  review  of  the  three  compromises,  see  Chan- 
ning,  Students^  History  of  the  United  States^  pp.  260-262. 

2  Bryce,  i.  178. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS        1/7 

taxes  only,  and  many  bills  looking  to  the  raising  of 
money  have  originated  in  the  Senate.  There  was  an 
attempt,  also,  to  secure  a  method  of  representation 
according  to  wealth  as  well  as  population.^  It  was 
thought  by  some  that  the  Senate  ought  to  be  founded 
upon  the  relative  amount  of  wealth  of  the  states.  This 
was  found  impracticable. 

Right  to  vote  for  Representatives.  As  long  as  there 
was  to  be  one  house  elected  to  represent  the  people, 
who  should  be  allowed  to  vote  ?  The  conven-  ^^^.  j  ^^^ 
tion  decided  to  leave  that  to  the  states.  The  ^^•'  p^*"-  ^• 
Constitution  simply  says  that  those  whom  the  states 
allow  to  vote  for  members  of  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature  may  vote  for  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  There  is  at  present  one  restriction 
on  the  power  of  the  state  to  regulate  the  right  to  vote 
which  was  not  in  the  original  Constitution.  It  is  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  which  says  that  the  Amend- 
rights  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  ^^^^  ^^' 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States, 
or  by  any  state,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude.  This  restriction  is  binding  more 
in  theory  than  in  practice,  for  some  states  have  suc- 
ceeded, by  educational  and  other  qualifications,  in  prac- 
tically denying  or  abridging  the  right  of  citizens  to 
vote  because  of  their  race  or  color. 

Election  of  Representatives  by  Districts.  The  times, 
places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  members  of 
both  houses  are  left  by  the  Constitution  to  the  state, 
but  Congress  was  given  power  to  make  or  alter  such 
regulations  with  one  exception. 

In  1842  Congress  passed  a  law  requiring  representa- 
tives to  be  elected  in  each  state  by  districts  equal  in 
^  See  also  the  Albany  Plan  of  Union. 


178    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE* 

number  to  the  representatives  from  that  state.  But  it 
also  required  that  the  districts  should  adjoin  one  another.^ 
This  has  led,  in  many  states,  to  political  schemes  that 
Art.  I.  sec.  would  favor,  in  the  districting,  the  party  in 
iv.,  par.  I.  power.  The  parts  of  the  states  having  large 
majorities  in  favor  of  the  opposition  party  are  thrown 
into  one  district.  In  this  way  a  number  of  voters  suffi- 
cient in  a  fair  districting  to  elect  four  or  five  representa- 
tives can  elect  perhaps  but  one.  And  the  party  in  power 
in  the  state  gets  an  unfair  proportion  of  the  representa- 
tives from  the  state.  Bryce,  in  his  "American  Com- 
monwealth," speaks  of  the  famous  Shoestring  District 
in  Mississippi,  and  like  examples  in  Missouri  and  South 
Carolina,  where  the  negro  voters  are  crowded  together 
in  as  few  districts  as  possible.  Examples  of  this  prac- 
tice are  to  be  found  in  nearly  if  not  quite  all  of  the 
states.  The  custom  started  long  before  the  law  of 
1842.  It  got  its  name,  "  gerrymandering,"  ^  from  El- 
bridge  Gerry,  who  contrived  a  method  of  dividing  Mas- 
sachusetts to  suit  his  party. 

Term  of  OflQce  and  Qualifications  of  Representa- 
tives. The  term  of  office  of  a  representative  in  Congress 
Art.  I.  sec.  "^^^  f^xed  at  two  years.  It  was  the  design  to 
ii.,  par.  i.  make  the  House  of  Representatives  directly 
subject  to  the  will  of  the  people.  It  therefore  changes 
every  two  years,  and  has  to  be  all  elected  over  again. 
The  whole  policy  of  the  House,  and  the  party  to  which 
a  majority  of  its  members  belong,  may  thus  be  changed 

^  When  a  new  apportionment  has  given  a  state  one  or  more  addi- 
tional representatives,  Congress  has  sometimes  allowed  the  state  to 
choose  them  for  the  whole  state  until  a  new  districting  could  be 
made.     Such  representatives  are  called  representatives  at  large. 

2  On  the  custom  of  "  gerrymandering,"  see  Fiske,  Civil  Govern* 
mentf  pp.  216,  217. 


THE    FEDERAL   CONGRESS  1/9 

every  two  years  at  the  discretion  of  the  voters.  There 
are  restrictions,  also,  determining  who  may  ^^t.  i.  sec 
serve  as  representative.  He  must  be  at  least  "•>  p^-  ^^ 
twenty-five  years  old,  must  have  been  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  for  seven  years,  and  must  be  an  inhabitant 
of  the  state  in  which  he  is  chosen.  Therefore,  a  foreign- 
born  citizen  may  serve  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
as  well  as  the  Senate,  although  he  may  not  be  Presi- 
dent. 

Residence  of  Representatives.  While  a  member  of 
the  House  must  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state  in  which 
he  is  chosen,  he  need  not  be,  as  far  as  the  p^^  j  ^g^. 
Constitution  is  concerned,  of  the  district  in  "•»  par-  2. 
which  he  is  chosen.  But  here  again  the  unwritten  law 
has  stepped  in,  and  in  practice  a  man  is  very  seldom 
elected  unless  an  inhabitant  of  the  district.  In  Eng- 
land, a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  does  not  have 
to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  part  of  the  kingdom  even  in 
which  he  is  chosen.  An  inhabitant  of  England  may  be 
chosen  to  represent  a  district  in  Scotland.  In  America 
it  is  different.  Here  the  territory  is  so  large  in  extent, 
and  so  diversified  in  interests,  that  it  is  well  to  re- 
quire representatives  to  be  at  least  inhabitants  of  the 
states  they  represent.  Indeed,  the  growth  of  the  col- 
onies as  separate  units  made  any  other  plan  impossi- 
ble. 

The  "People."  When  the  Constitution  says  that  the 
people  of  each  state  have  the  power  to  elect  the  mem- 
bers of  the  lower  house  of  the  national  Con-  ^^.^  ^  ^^^^ 
gress,  what  does  it  mean  by  *' people".?  In  ii-,  par.  i. 
general  it  does  not  mean  all  the  people,  because  there 
are  many  of  them  who,  for  various  reasons,  cannot  vote. 
The  "  people,"  therefore,  are  narrowed  down  to  the 
voters.     Among  the  voters  the  majority  elects,  and  the 


l80       GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

minority  has  practically  no  power.  So  it  is  after  all  a 
comparative  few  who  elect,  for  the  number  who  have 
the  right  of  casting  a  ballot  is  small  compared  with  the 
whole  population.  On  this  account  some  have  insisted 
that  the  sovereignty  resides  in  those  who  actually  wield 
the  power  in  the  state. 

Direct  Taxes  and  Persons  bound  to  Service.  Re- 
presentatives and  direct  taxes,  as  we  have  seen,  are 
apportioned  among  the  several  states  according  to  pop- 
ulation. The  compromise  which  brought  about  this 
adjustment  was  not  much  of  a  compromise  after  all,  for 
the  national  government  has  seldom  resorted  to  direct 
Art.  I.  sec.  taxcs.  It  is  interesting  to  notice,  in  this  con- 
ii.,  par.  3.  ncction,  that,  in  the  article  requiring  represen- 
tation and  direct  taxes  to  be  based  upon  population,  the 
Constitution  speaks  of  a  class  of  persons  distinct  from 
all  the  rest.  It  is  *'  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of 
years."  This  class  was  evidently  a  large  one,  and  repre- 
sented conditions  of  life  that,  happily,  have  long  since 
passed  away. 

Basis  of  Representation.  In  order  to  tell  how  to 
adjust  the  number  of  representatives  to  each  state,  a 
Art.  I.  sec.  ccusus  was  provided  for  every  ten  years.  The 
ii.,  par.  3.  quc  taken  in  1900  was  the  twelfth  census  of 
the  United  States.  The  convention  at  first  determined 
that  there  should  be  one  representative  to  forty  thou- 
sand people,  as  shown  by  the  census.  This  was  called 
the  basis  of  representation}     Just  before  adjournment, 

^  Congress  decides  upon  what  it  considers  the  most  convenient 
number  of  representatives,  and  then  divides  the  total  population  of 
the  United  States  by  that  number.  The  result  is  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation. The  population  of  each  state  is  then  divided  by  the  basis. 
The  result  is  the  number  of  representatives  for  the  state.  In  case 
there  is  a  fraction  remaining,  not  less  than  one  half,  the  state  is. 
generally  granted  an  additional  representative. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS         l8l 

at  the  request  of  Washington,  the  basis  was  changed 
from  forty  thousand  to  not  less  than  thirty  thousand,  in 
order  to  give  the  people  a  larger  representation.  The 
convention,  of  course,  did  not  have  any  accurate  way  of 
knowing  what  the  population  of  the  United  States  was 
at  that  time,  for  no  census  had  then  been  taken.  The 
Constitution  itself,  therefore,  says  how  many  each  state 
should  have  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  First 
Congress.  The  total  number  was  sixty-five;  ^^.i.  sec. 
no  state  had  more  than  ten  and  two  had  but  one  "-jpar-  3- 
representative.  As  the  population  of  the  United  States 
has  increased,  Congress  has  had  to  raise  the  basis  of 
representation  in  order  to  prevent  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives being  too  large.  Now  the  basis  is  194,182, 
But  the  state  of  Nevada  has  not  one  third  that  number 
of  people.  It  might  seem  that  such  a  state  should  have 
no  representative,  but  the  Constitution  provides  that 
each  state  shall  have  at  least  one  representative,  no  mat- 
ter what  its  population. 

The  Speaker  of  the  House.^  The  House  has  the 
right  to  choose  its  own  Speaker.  This  office  has  grown 
to  be  one  of  importance,  next,  perhaps,  to  the  ^^^  j  ^^^^ 
presidency.  More  and  more  power  has  been  ii-,par-5- 
drawn  into  the  hands  of  the  Speaker,  because  the  work 
of  so  large  a  body  as  the  House  must  be  done  by  com- 
mittees. The  Speaker  chooses  the  committees,  and  thus 
practically  controls  legislation. 

The  Senate.2     In  the  Senate  we"  have  a  very  different 
body.     The  term  of  members  of  the  House  is  short,  that 
of  members  of  the  Senate  is  long,  six  years.    Art.  i.,  sec. 
The  House  changes  every  two  years,  the  Sen-  ii^- 
ate  never  changes  completely,  for  but  a  third  of  that 

^  On  the  speaker  and  the  committee  system,  see  Bryce,  i.  154-164. 
^  Bryce,  i.  97-105. 


l82    GOVERNMENT    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

body  is  chosen  at  each  election.  The  people  elect  the 
members  of  the  House,  the  senators  are  representatives 
of  the  states  as  organized  political  units,  and  are  chosen 
by  the  state  legislatures.  The  House  is  supposed  to 
respond  rapidly  to  changes  of  sentiment  in  the  people, 
the  Senate  responds  slowly.  It  was  expected  to  be  a 
sort  of  balance  wheel.  Whether  it  has  entirely  justified 
this  expectation  in  all  regards  may,  perhaps,  be  open  to 
question.  At  any  rate  it  has  had  a  great  history,  and 
has  enrolled  among  its  members  some  of  the  greatest  of 
Americans.  Each  state  has  two  senators,  and  therefore 
all  have  equal  representation.  Nevada,  with  its  less  than 
fifty  thousand  people,  has  as  many  representatives  in  the 
Senate  as  New  York  with  its  seven  millions  of  people. 
This  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  House,  where  New 
York  or  Pennsylvania  has  more  than  thirty  times  as 
Art.  I  sec.  ^n^-ny  representatives  as  Nevada.  Each  sena- 
iii.,  par.  i.  ^qj-  j^j^s  onc  votc,  and  if  the  senators  from  any 
state  vote  on  different  sides  of  a  question  the  vote  of 
that  state  is  practically  lost.  The  two  senators  are 
chosen  by  the  state  legislatures.  The  Constitution  does 
not  provide  the  method  of  election,  but  this  has  been 
done  by  Congress.  Yet  the  people  of  a  state  often  deter- 
mine beforehand  who  shall  be  senator,  and  the  legisla- 
ture simply  registers  their  decision. 

Organization  of  the  Senate.  To  secure  permanency 
for  the  Senate,  the  first  senators  were  divided  into  three 
Art.  I.,  sec.  classcs,  to  scrvc  two,  four,  and  six  years  respec- 
iii.,  par.  2.  tively,  so  that  the  term  of  only  one  third  could 
expire  at  any  one  time.  This  provision  makes  the  Senate 
a  permanent  body,  for  at  no  time  can  there  be  an  entirely 
Art.  I.  sec.  ^^^  Senate.  No  one  can  be  a  senator  who  is 
iii.,  par.  3.  ^q^  ^^  least  thirty  years  old,  and  who  has  not 
been  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  nine  years.     Albert 


THE   FEDERAL   CONGRESS  1 83 

Gallatin,  one  of  our  ablest  financiers,  was  elected  when 
too  young,  and  his  seat  was  vacated.  The  same  thing 
happened  in  another  case.  The  Senate  cannot,  like  the 
House,  choose  its  own  presiding  officer.  The  ^^t.  i.  sec. 
Constitution  makes  the  Vice-President  the  "i-,  par.  4. 
President  of  the  Senate.  But  the  Senate  chooses  a  pre- 
siding officer,  who  acts  during  the  frequent  absence  of 
the  Vice-President,  and  is  called  the  President  pro  tem- 
pore. On  account  of  the  death  of  two  Presidents  and 
two  Vice-Presidents,  a  President  pro  tempore  ^^^  j  ^^^^ 
has  been  necessary  a  considerable  part  of  the  i"'  p^''- 5- 
time  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  President 
pro  tempore  always  has  his  vote  as  a  senator,  but  the 
Vice-President  has  a  vote  only  when  the  Senate  is 
equally  divided  on  a  question. 

Impeachment.  The  Constitution  gives  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  the  sole  power  of  impeachment.  Im- 
peachment is  accusing  a  person  of  misconduct,  p^^Y  sec 
and  is  much  the  same  as  indictment  by  a  grand  i^i'  p^''-^- 
jury,  the  House  of  Representatives  acting  somewhat  as 
a  grand  jury.  When  a  man  is  accused,  or  indicted,  or 
impeached,  he  must  be  tried,  and  the  Constitution  gives 
to  the  Senate  the  sole  power  to  try  all  cases  of  impeach- 
ment ;  that  is,  the  Senate  sits  as  a  court,  and  while  so 
sitting  senators  are  under  oath  or  affirmation.  They 
cannot  convict  a  person  unless  two  thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers present  vote  for  conviction ;  and  when  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  must  preside.  In  the- matter  of  impeach- 
ment the  convention  copied  mainly  from  the  custom  in 
England,  but  there  the  punishment  may  be  much  more 
severe,  and  the  conviction  is  much  easier,  as  only  a 
majority  is  necessary  for  conviction.  There  has  been 
but  one  impeachment  of  a  President,  that  of  Andrew 


l84     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Johnson,  during  the  exciting  times  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion period,  when  party  feeUng  was  at  a  white  heat. 
Fortunately  for  the  reputation  of  the  presidency,  and 
for  that  of  the  United  States,  the  impeachment  failed, 
although  by  but  a  single  vote. 

Sessions  of  Congress.^  Congress  must  meet  at  least 
once  each  year,  upon  the  first  Monday  in  December 
Art.  I.,  sec.  unlcss  a  different  day  is  set  by  law.  There 
IV.,  pax.  2.  g^^g  ^^  least  two  sessions  of  each  Congress,^ 
and  the  second  must  close  at  noon  on  March  4.  The 
President  has  power  to  call  an  extra  session  of  both 
Art.  II.  houses  or  of  either  house,  and  if  the  houses 
sec.  iii.  cannot  agree  as  to  adjournment  he  may  ad- 
journ them.  The  House  of  Representatives  has  never 
been  convened  alone  ;  neither  has  the  President  had  to 
adjourn  Congress  because  of  disagreement.  The  Senate 
Art.  I.  sec.  ^^^  often  been  convened  alone  to  transact  ex- 
vi.,  par.  I.  ecutive  busi^ness.  Members  of  both  houses 
are  paid  for  their  services  out  of  the  national  treasury, 
and  not  out  of  the  respective  state  treasuries  as  under 
the  Confederation.^  They  are  thus  directly  under  the 
control  of  the  national  government  as  to  compensation, 
and  the  state  has  no  influence  over  them  in  this  regard. 
Art.  I.  sec.  They  are  also  privileged  from  arrest,  except  in 
vi.,  par.  I.  a  few  cases,  while  going  to  or  returning  from 
a  session  of  Congress  and  while  in  attendance  upon  it, 
and  they  cannot  be  called  to  account  elsewhere  for  what 
is  there  said  in  debate.  In  this  the  Constitution  follows 
the  English  law,  which  is  of  ancient  origin. 

1  On  the  organization  of  the  legislative  department  in  1789,  see 
Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  pp.  141-143  ;  for  description  of 
usual  proceedings  in  Congress,  Bryce,  i.  130-133. 

2  Since  the  House  changes  once  in  two  years,  we  speak  of  a  new 
Congress  once  in  two  years.  Each  Congress,  therefore,  must  have 
two  sessions. 

3  See  Articles  of  Confederation,  Art.  V. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS        185 

The  President's  Veto.  Every  bill  to  become  a  law- 
must  pass  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  be  presented 
to  the  President.  He  may  veto  it  if  he  disap-  ^^^  j  ^^^^ 
proves  of  the  bill,  in  which  case  he  must  send  v"-'  p-'^^-  ^' 
it  back  to  the  house  which  originated  it,  and  give  his 
reasons.  If  both  houses  wish  to  pass  it  over  his  veto  by 
a  two  thirds'  majority,  they  may  do  so,  and  it  becomes 
a  law.  If  he  holds  the  bill  more  than  ten  days  (Sundays 
excepted),  it  becomes  a  law  without  his  signature  unless 
Congress  adjourns  before  the  ten  days  elapse,  in  which 
case  it  does  not  become  a  law.  This  method  of  destroy- 
ing a  bill  has  received  the  name  of  "  pocket  veto,"  and 
was  first  used  by  Andrew  Jackson.  The  word  "  veto  "  is 
not  in  the  Constitution,  but  is  in  such  common  use  that 
it  accurately  describes  the  method  laid  down  for  the 
passage  of  bills.  The  idea  of  vetoing  bills  was  not  at  all 
new  to  the  convention.  Laws  passed  by  colonial  legis- 
latures had  often  been  vetoed  by  ^he  king  in  council. 
But  the  crown  in  England  lost  its  veto  power  over  acts 
of  Parliament  by  refraining  from  its  use.  It  was  an  act 
of  wisdom  to  give  a  partial  veto  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  main  the  power  has  been 
wisely  used. 

Powers  of  Congress.^  The  Constitution  grants  Con- 
gress large  powers.  The  experience  of  the  ^j.^  j  ^^^ 
United  States  under  the  Confederation  was  vi"-»  P^r- 1- 
sufficient  to  induce  the  convention  to  grant  to  Congress 
those  powers  for  the  lack  of  which  the  Confederation 
was  a  failure.  We  are  not  surprised,  then,  that  the 
very  first  grant  of  power  was  that  of  laying  and  collect- 
ing taxes,  duties,  and  excises,  provided  duties,  imposts, 
and  excises  were  uniform  throughout  the  United  States. 
In  this  connection  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  direct 
1  Fiske,  Civil  Gov  eminent ^'^^.  212-222. 


l86    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

taxes  have  to  be  apportioned  among  the  various  states 
according  to  population.  The  United  States  govern- 
ment gets  most  of  its  revenue  from  indirect  taxes,  such 
as  duties  on  imported  goods  and  excise  duties  on  liquor 
and  tobacco.  It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  a 
Art.  I.  sec.  fleeting  had  been  called  at  Annapolis  before 
viii.,par.  3.  ^hc  Convention  of  1787  to  arrange  the  trou- 
bles that  had  arisen  from  each  state  having  the  power 
to  make  its  own  commercial  regulations.  The  Consti- 
tution has  settled  that  matter  once  for  all  by  giving 
Congress  the  control  of  all  commerce,  among  the  states 
as  well  as  with  foreign  nations. 

Naturalization.  Emigration  to  America  began  im- 
Art.  I.,  sec.  iTiediately  after  the  Revolution.  It  was  clearly 
viii.,par.4.  gecu  that  as  a  new  and  undeveloped  country 
the  United  States  could  not  wisely  discourage  the  com- 
ing of  the  men  and  women  necessary  to  develop  its 
great  resources.  Although  there  was  a  strong  anti- 
foreign  feeling,  the  matter  was  treated  with  great  wis- 
dom, and  the  control  of  naturalization  was  given  into 
the  hands  of  Congress,  with  the  restriction  that  the  laws 
must  be  uniform.  The  length  of  time  necessary  to 
acquire  citizenship  has  been  at  different  periods  two  and 
fourteen  years  respectively.  It  is  now,  and  has  been 
for  nearly  a  century,  five  years.  Notwithstanding  that 
fact,  large  portions  of  territory  have  at  various  times 
been  added  to  the  United  States  and  whole  communi- 
ties have  been  naturalized  by  treaty. 

Power  to  coin  and  borrow  Money.  Congress  has  a 
very  important  power  in  its  exclusive  right  to 

Art.  1.,  sec.  .  1  1  1  1  1  r 

viii.,pars.      com  moucy  and  regulate  the  value  thereof. 

^'        It  may  also  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the 

United  States.     In  accordance  with  this  right.  United 

States  bonds  have  at  various  times  been  issued  in  vast 


THE  FEDERAL  CONGRESS         187 

amounts  in  return  for  money  borrowed  for  specific  pur- 
poses. Under  the  power  to  coin  money  has  grown  up  a 
great  system  of  national  banks  and  a  system  of  paper 
money  so  guarded  as  to  be  a  safe  substitute  for  coin. 
In  many  parts  of  the  United  States  almost  no  money  is 
seen  but  paper  money,  *'  greenbacks,"  treasury  notes, 
silver  certificates,  or  the  issue  of  national  banks.  In 
other  parts,  especially  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  almost  no 
money  but  coin  of  gold  or  silver  is  used. 

Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads.  Another  power  granted 
to  Congress  that  has  become  of  great  impor-  j^^^  j  g^^^ 
tance  is  that  of  establishing  post  offices  and  viii.,par.  7. 
post  roads.  This  was  a  matter  of  small  concern  at  first, 
but  the  post  office  system  has  grown  to  enormous  pro- 
portions. The  power  which  the  President  has  of  appoint- 
ing post  office  officials  has,  because  of  their  increase 
in  numbers,  added  immensely  to  his  political  influence. 
He  has  under  him  a  vast  army  of  office-holders,  who  are 
ready  to  further  his  interests.  In  the  time  of  Andrew 
Jackson  grew  up  the  political  doctrine  that  "  to  the  vic- 
tors belong  the  spoils,"  and  every  four  years,  if  there 
was  a  change  of  administration,  there  was  a  great  over- 
turning for  political  purposes.  This  condition  of  affairs 
led  to  great  corruption,  which  civil  service  reform  has 
to  some  extent  succeeded  in  abolishing. 

The  post  office  system  is  one  of  the  most  important 
features  that  have  to  do  with  our  comfort,  knowledge 
of  the  world,  and  high  standard  of  intelligence.  The 
ordinary  letter  now  goes  to  any  place  within  the  United 
States  for  two  cents.  At  first  a  charge  was  made  ac- 
cording to  distance,  and  the  one  who  received  the  letter 
had  to  pay  the  postage.  Letters  were  in  that  day  so 
infrequent  that  any  one  was  glad  to  pay  for  getting 
a  letter.     The  rate  was  from  six  to  twenty-five  cents. 


l88     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Prepaid  stamps  were  not  generally  used  until  1855,  at 
which  time  began  the  registering  of  letters.  In  1863 
the  postage  on  all  ordinary  letters  was  reduced  to  three 
cents  ;  in  the  same  year  began  Xh^  free  delivery  system. 
The  use  of  the  very  convenient  postal  card  did  not 
begin  until  1872. 

Other  Powers  of  Congress.  A  similar  increase  in 
importance  has  characterized  the  power  which 
sec'viiL,  Congress  has  over  the  discoveries  and  writings 
pars.  -15.  ^£  ij^ygjj^-Qj-s  2,nA  authors.  The  Patent  Office, 
in  which  are  deposited  models  of  machines  on  which 
patents  are  desired,  has  become  vast  in  extent,  and  the 
United  States  has  become,  probably,  the  greatest  nation 
of  inventors  in  the  world.  Writers  secure  the  control 
of  their  works  by  copyrights. 

Congress  has  the  power  to  declare  war,  to  raise  and 
support  armies  and  navies,  and  to  provide  rules  for 
their  government.  It  can  arm  and  call  out  the  militia, 
and  govern  them  when  in  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States.  The  Constitution  gives  the  people  vir- 
tual control  over  the  army  by  forbidding  any  appropria- 
tion for  a  longer  term  than  two  years,  just  the  length 
of  the  term  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  Congress  has  formally  declared  war 
but  twice,  although  the  United  States  has  carried  on 
four  wars.  In  the  case  of  the  Mexican  War,  it  declared 
that  war  already  existed  by  the  act  of  Mexico.  In  the 
Civil  War  the  government  did  not  regard  the  southern 
states  as  a  nation.  Those  in  arms  in  the  South  were 
regarded  as  persons  obstructing  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  By  the  Constitution  Congress  is  specifically 
given  the  power  to  suppress  insurrections. 

Implied  Powers.  It  would  have  been  unwise  and 
impracticable  to  attempt  a  complete  enumeration  of  all 


THE   FEDERAL   CONGRESS  189 

the  powers  which  Congress  ought  to  have  to  carry  out  the 
national  idea.     Therefore   a  sweeping  clause 
was  added  to  the  effect  that  Congress  should   sec'viil, 
have  the  authority  to  make  all  laws  necessary   ^^*  ^  ' 
and  proper  for  carrying  into  effect  the  powers  specifi- 
cally enumerated  in  the  Constitution,  and  all  other  pow- 
ers vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  government  or 
any  department  or  officer  of  the  United  States.     From 
this  clause  come  the  implied  powers  of  the  government 
under  which  the  authority  of  the  central  government 
has  been   enormously  increased,   but  without  which  it 
could  hardly  have  secured  its  present  dignity  and  power. 
Checks  on  Congress.     Congress  was  also  forbidden 
to  do  many  things.     It  was  forbidden  to  pro-   ^^^t.  i. 
hibit  the  importation  of  slaves  before  1 808,  or   sec.  ix. 
to  levy  any  tax  upon  goods  exported  from  any  state. 
In  order  to   make   the  government   and  society  com- 
pletely republican,  no  title  of  nobility  can  be  granted  by 
the  United   States ;   nor  can  any  foreign  power  gain 
influence  over  officials  under  the  government,  for  such 
officials  are  expressly  forbidden   to   receive   from    any 
king,  prince,  or  foreign  state  any  present,  emolument, 
office,  or  title. 

SUMMARY 

The  Constitution  vests  all  legislative  power  in  a  Congress 
of  two  houses.  One  of  these  is  called  the  Senate,  and  is 
composed  of  two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  for  terms 
of  six  years  by  the  state  legislatures.  Thus  the  states  are 
equal  in  the  Senate.  The  other,  called  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives, is  composed  of  members  chosen  every  two 
years  by  the  people  of  the  several  states.  The  representa- 
tives are  apportioned  among  the  states  every  ten  years  ac- 
cording to  the  census  showing  of  population.     In  the  House 


IQO     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

of  Representatives,  therefore,  the  states  are  very  unequal  in 
power. 

The  things  that  Congress  can  do,  as  well  as  those  it  can- 
not do,  are  in  general  specified  in  the  Constitution,  but  some 
powers  are  implied  in  addition  to  those  granted. 


CHAPTER   XVII 


THE   FEDERAL    EXECUTIVE 


Power  of  the  President. ^  The  President  of  the 
United  States  is  in ,  many  respects  more  powerful  than 
any  European  ruler.  The  Czar  of  Russia  is  an  absolute 
ruler,  theoretically,  but  his  power  is  thoroughly  hedged 
in  by  the  fact  that  the  real  work  of  governing  must  be 
carried  on  by  subordinate  officers  who  determine  for  the 
Czar  what  shall  be  done.  The  President's  power  is  set 
down  in  the  Constitution,  and  within  his  sphere  no  one 
can  limit  him  ;  nor  would  any  of  his  subordinates  think 
for  a  moment  of  thwarting  his  will.  He  is  more  power- 
ful than  the  English  sovereign,  from  whom  the  unwrit- 
ten constitution  has  gradually  taken  rights  that  were 
formerly  possessed  by  the  crown.  Then,  too,  the  power 
of  a  president  or  a  sovereign  depends  very  greatly  upon 
the  size  and  importance  of  the  country  of  which  he 
is  the  head,  and  upon  the  kind  of  people  in  it.  In 
this  respect,  the  President  of  the  United  States  has 
back  of  him  a  force  extremely  great  because  of  the 
extent  and  wealth  of  the  country.  He  has  behind  him 
the  enormous  power  of  a  people  of  high  average  intelli- 
gence and  education,  who  are  ingenious,  vigorous,  re- 
sourceful, and  intensely  patriotic. 

^  On  the  organization  of  the  executive  department,  1789,  1790, 
see  Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union,  pp.  143-145;  also  Channing, 
Students''  History  of  the  United  States,  pp.  279-286. 

"^  For  powers  and  duties  of  the  President,  see  Bryce,  i.  ch.  vi. 


192    GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

A  Single  Executive.  The  matter  of  an  executive  for 
the  new  government  caused  considerable  discussion  in 
the  convention.  There  had  been  no  president 
sec.'i.,  '  of  the  Confederation.  There  had  been  a  presi- 
dent of  Congress,  but  he  was  a  mere  presiding 
officer.  The  office  of  governor  in  the  various  states  was 
of  course  well  known,  and  in  Pennsylvania,  at  least,  the 
head  of  the  state  was  called  president.  All  agreed  that 
there  ought  to  be  an  executive  department  separate 
from  the  other  departments.  But  they  were  not  sure 
that  so  much  power  ought  to  be  given  into  the  hands 
of  one  man.  The  weakness  of  the  old  Confederation 
without  an  executive  settled  the  matter  in  favor  of  a 
single  executive,  but  still  the  delegates  had  the  old 
hatred  of  a  central  executive  power.  They  had  not  for- 
gotten the  royal  colonial  governors  nor  George  III. 

Term  of  President  and  who  should  elect.  They 
also  were  in  doubt  as  to  how  long  a  term  the  executive 
Art.  II.  sec.  o^ght  to  have,  and  whether  or  not  he  should 
i.,  par.  I.  have  the  right  of  reelection.  They  differed 
widely,  also,  as  to  who  should  choose  the  President.  At 
first  it  was  decided  that  they  would  have  (i)  a  single 
executive,  (2)  who  should  be  elected  by  Congress,  and 
(3)  serve  for  seven  years  ;  (4)  it  was  afterwards  added 
that  he  should  not  be  elected  a  second  time.  As 
will  be  seen,  three  of  these  four  points  were  changed, 
showing  how  carefully  the  convention  proceeded,  and 
how  ready  they  were  to  make  changes  that  mature 
judgment  approved.  A  very  few,  only,  were 
in  favor  of  allowing  the  people  to  choose  the 
President. .  Many  of  the  leaders  considered  the  people 
as  a  whole  a  kind  of  mob,  not  to  be  trusted  with  the 
power  of  choosing  their  own  rulers.  The  section  of  this 
book  on  the  unwritten  constitution  shows  us  that  the 


THE   FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE  I93 

attempt  to  head  off  the  people  did  not  succeed,  and  that 
in  spite  of  the  Constitution  they  have  taken  the  matter 
into  their  own  hands.  As  soon  as  the  convention  saw 
what  powers  it  would  be  necessary  to  give  to  Congress 
and  the  President,  it  was  evident  that  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  have  him  elected  by  Congress.  If  he  were  so 
elected,  he  would  be  under  its  influence,  and  would  not 
be  a  sufficient  check  upon  it.  Then,  too,  their  disgust 
with  the  Confederation  led  them  to  see  that  if  the  new 
government  were  to  act  rapidly,  vigorously,  and  effec- 
tively, the  executive  must  be  able  to  act  independently. 
One  man  can  have  a  thing  entirely  completed  before  a 
body  of  men  are  half  done  quarrelling  about  whether  to 
do  it  or  not.  The  convention  decided  finally  to  take 
away  from  Congress  the  power  of  electing  the  President, 
but  they  were  not  willing  to  give  it  into  the  hands  of  the 
people. 

The  Electoral  College.  In  casting  about  for  some 
indirect  way  of  electing  the  President,  the  experience  of 
Maryland,  which  had  a  sort  of  electoral  col-  ^^t.  11., 
lege,  was  taken  as  a  guide.  The  convention  ^^^^^j^P^^* 
expected  the  method  of  election  by  the  electo-  Amend- 
ral  college  to  work  in  this  way  :  The  people, 
without  having  any  one  in  mind  for  President,  or  hav- 
ing any  party  conventions  to  nominate  men,  would  meet 
and  choose  electors  whom  they  thought  to  be  men  of 
excellent  judgment  and  experience.  These  electors 
would  meet  at  the  appointed  time  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  a  President.  They  would  talk  the  matter 
over  and  discuss  who  would  be  the  best  man  ;  and, 
using  their  own  judgment^  without  reference  to  what 
the  people  wanted,  would  select  a  President.  This  is 
all  amusing  to  us  now,  for  the  members  of  the  conven- 
tion of  1787,  although  very  wise  men,  evidently  did  not 


194    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

understand  the  people.  Their  plan  worked  for  a  short 
time,  but  with  the  fourth  election  the  original  idea  had 
forever  vanished.  Electors  were  chosen  because  they 
represented  some  party,  and  had  pledged  themselves 
beforehand  to  some  candidate.  To  break  this  pledge 
would  consign  one  to  political  oblivion. 

Method  of  Voting.  The  first  method  of  voting  for 
President  and  Vice-President  was  found  very  unsatisfac- 
Amend-  tory.  The  electors  voted  for  two  men  without 
ment  XII.  specifying  which  one  they  voted  for  as  Presi- 
dent and  which  as  Vice-President.  The  person  receiv- 
ing the  largest  number  of  votes,  if  it  was  a  majority  of 
the  electors,  was  President,  and  the  one  receiving  the 
next  largest  number  was  Vice-President.  In  case  there 
was  no  choice,  if  two  persons  had  the  same  number  and 
it  was  a  majority,  the  House  of  Representatives  had  to 
elect,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  but  one 
vote.  In  this  way,  the  President  and  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent might  belong  to  different  parties,  —  as  was  the 
case  with  Adams  and  Jefferson  in  1796.  This  method 
of  voting  led  to  trouble  in  1800.  At  that  time  Jeffer- 
son and  Burr  received  the  same  number  of  votes 
and  a  majority  of  the  whole,  and  the  election  had 
to  be  determined  by  the  House.  There  was  what  we 
now  call  a  "dead-lock,"  the  votes  of  eight  of  the  six- 
teen states  being  for  Jefferson,  six  for  Burr,  and  two 
scattering.  This  gave  no  one  a  majority  of  states. 
Although  Hamilton  was  an  enemy  of  Jefferson,  he 
thought  Burr  so  unsafe  a  man  for  the  presidency  that, 
after  many  ballots  had  been  taken,  he  persuaded  his 
friends  to  cast  the  two  scattering  votes  for  Jefferson, 
who  was  elected.  This  difficulty  led  to  the  Twelfth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  in  1804.  In  1824  the 
House  of  Representatives  elected  John  Quincy  Adams. 


THE   FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE  195 

The  most  dangerous  election  case,  however,  was  in 
1876,  when  Hayes  ran  against  Tilden.^  There  were 
double  sets  of  returns  from  several  states,  mainly  in  the 
South,  where  there  was  still  much  trouble  over  recon- 
struction. The  excitement  was  very  great,  and  the 
country  seemed  on  the  verge  of  civil  war.  An  electoral 
commission  was  appointed  to  decide  the  cases  of  double 
election  returns.  By  a  strict  party  vote  Hayes  was  de- 
clared elected,  although  there  was  a  great  clamor  against 
the  decision  as  unjust.  The  serious  difficulties  in  the 
presidential  election  of  1876  made  it  plain  that  some- 
thing ought  to  be  done  to  remove  this  danger  to  the 
republic.  On  this  account  the  act  of  1887  was  passed, 
in  which  the  final  determination  of  disputed  elections 
of  presidential  electors  was  given  to  state  authorities. 

The  President  a  Party  Man.  The  method  of  elec- 
tion adopted  by  the  convention  was  supposed  to  arrange 
it  so  that  the  President  could  not  be  a  party"  man,  but 
would  be  somewhat  like  the  King  of  England,  removed 
from  party  strife.  The  exact  opposite  has  come  to  pass. 
The  President  is  wholly  a  party  man.  He  would  stand 
no  chance  whatever  of  election  if  he  were  not,  and  he 
keeps  party  interests  always  in  view  during  his  adminis- 
tration. The  same  tendency  that  has  made  the  elec- 
tors strictly  party  men,  has  made  the  President  as  well 
a  party  man.  Yet  he  is  no  more  so  than  the  prime 
minister  of  England  ;  and  if  it  is  right  that  the  majority 
rule,  it  is  right  that  the  President  whom  they  elect  shall 
carry  out  their  wishes. 

While  the  President  is  and  must  be,  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  term,  a  party  man,  the  obligation  upon  him  is 
very  great  not  to  be  a  party  man  in  the  bad  sense  of 
the  term,  —  that  is,  a  mere  party  spoilsman. 

^  For  an  account  of  the  contested  election  of  1876-77,  see  Wil- 
son's Division  and  Retmioti^  pp.  283-286. 


196    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

The  presidents  of  the  United  States  have  been  men 
of  high  character  and  unquestioned  loyalty.  Although 
often  extreme  partisans  originally,  they  have  felt  that 
they  represented  the  country  as  a  whole,  and  the  dig- 
nity of  the  office  and  the  greatness  of  the  responsibility 
have  kept  them  from  acting  unworthily  of  the  office. 

Nominating  Conventions.^  When  the  party  system 
had  grown  up,  in  order  that  a  party  might  be  success- 
ful it  had  to  fix  upon  some  plan  whereby  all  of  its  mem- 
bers should  be  sure  of  voting  for  the  same  man.  They 
had  to  determine  beforehand,  therefore,  for  whom  they 
should  all  vote.  It  is  clear  that  all  of  the  party  could 
not  get  together  and  agree  upon  a  man.  Who,  then, 
should  pick  out  the  man  ?  In  the  case  of  the  first  elec- 
tions every  one  knew  that  Washington  ought  to  be 
chosen.  Afterward  a  congressional  caucus  selected  the 
candidate.  Sometimes  state  legislatures  nominated  can- 
didates. In  either  case  the  people  had  no  direct  part  in 
the  matter.  There  was  a  great  protest  against  the  con- 
gressional caucus,  and  state  legislatures  could  not  well 
nominate.  Jackson  was  the  first  to  be  nominated  by 
a  convention,  although  it  was  simply  a  convention  of 
Blount  County,  Tennessee.  Other  local  conventions 
were  held  in  other  states.  Jackson  thus  figured  as  the 
people's  man.  By  1832  all  candidates  were  nominated 
in  national  conventions,  and  this  has  been  the  custom 
ever  since.^ 

Various  Steps  in  Election.     There  are  many  steps 

^  For  an  account  of  party  organization  and  nominating  conven- 
tions, see  Bryce,  ii.  82  and  following. 

2  These  conventions  are  not  required  by  the  Constitution  or  by 
law.  They  have  developed  purely  from  the  necessities  of  party 
management,  and  are  examples  of  the  growth  of  the  unwritten 
constitution. 


THE  FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE  197 

leading  to  the  nomination  and  election  of  a  man  for 
President  or  Vice-President,  (i.)  Meetings  are  held, 
known  as  primaries  ;  of  the  ward,  if  in  a  city,  and  of  the 
town  or  precinct,  if  in  the  county.  In  the  primaries 
delegates  are  chosen  to  represent  the  party  in  the  county 
or  district  convention.  They  are  chosen  to  bring  about 
the  nomination  of  some  particular  candidate  for  Presi- 
dent, and  whether  he  is  nominated  or  not  may  depend 
upon  how  the  primaries  vote.  (2.)  County  or  district  con- 
ventions ^"choose  delegates  to  the  state  convention,  and 
the  contest  is  to  get  delegates  favorable  to  the  candi- 
date whom  the  primaries  had  in  mind.  (3.)  State  con- 
ventions choose  delegates  to  the  national  convention, 
twice  as  many  as  the  state  has  senators  and  represent- 
atives in  Congress,  having  still  in  mind  the  candidate 
whose  support  began  at  the  primaries.  At  these  con- 
ventions, also,  are  nominated  presidential  electors,  two 
at  large,  and  as  many  district  electors  as  there  are  con- 
gressional districts.  These  electors  must  vote  in  the 
Electoral  College  for  the  candidate  nominated  by  the 
national  convention.  (4.)  National  conventions  are  the 
real  nominating  bodies,  and  play  a  peculiar  and  very 
important  part  in  our  system.  The  man  who  can  com- 
mand the  most  delegates  is  nominated  by  the  party 
holding  the  convention.  Nominations  are  generally 
made  in  June  or  early  in  July.  (5.)  The  election  occurs 
on  the  Tuesday  following  the  first  Monday  in  November. 
At  this  time  the  electors  are  appointed  theoretically, 
but  really  the  President  and  Vice-President  are  elected. 
Not  one  man  in  a  thousand  pays  any  attention  to  when 

1  In  Massachusetts  the  state  convention  chooses  four  delegates 
at  large  (and  four  alternates)  to  the  national  convention,  and  each 
congressional  district  convention  chooses  two  delegates  (and  two 
alternates). 


198     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

the  Electoral  College  meets  or  what  it  does.  (6.)  The 
electors  do  not  meet  in  a  body,  so  that  the  name  "  Elec- 
toral College"  is  figurative.  Those  from  each  state 
meet  together  at  the  state  Capitol  and  vote  by  ballot 
for  President  and  Vice-President.  Three  ^  lists  of  all 
persons  voted  for,  and  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  are 
made,  signed,  certified,  and  sealed.  One  copy  is  mailed 
to  the  president  of  the  Senate  at  Washington,  one  is 
sent  to  him  by  a  special  messenger,  and  one  is  delivered 
to  the  judge  of  the  United  States  district  court  for 
the  district  in  which  the  electors  meet.  (7.)  On  the 
second  Wednesday  in  February  the  Senate  and  House 
have  a  joint  session  in  the  hall  of  the  House,  and  the 
president  of  the  Senate  opens  the  certificates.  They 
are  then  counted  by  tellers  of  the  House,  who  read  and 
count  the  vote.  (8.)  If  no  one  receives  a  majority  for 
President,  the  House  proceeds  to  elect.  If  no  one  re- 
ceives a  majority  for  Vice-President,  the  Senate  elects. 

Reelection.  At  first  the  convention  of  1787  thought 
that  the  term  of  the  President  should  be  seven  years,  and 
that  he  should  not  be  reelected.  The  term  was  finally 
made  four  years,  and  nothing  was  said  as  to  reelection. 
As  far  as  the  Constitution  goes,  a  man  may  be  reelected 
as  many  times  as  the  people  choose.  What  we  have 
said  about  the  unwritten  constitution,  however,  shows 
the  practice  to  be  that  a  President  may  be  reelected  but 
once. 

War  power  of  President.^  The  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent varies  according  to  the  needs  of  the  case, 
sec.iii.,'  The  Constitution  is  very  specific  that  "he 
par .  ^^^^j  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  j^^^  ^^  faithfully  exe- 
cuted." In  time  of  peace  his  power  runs  within  well- 
defined  limits.     In  time  of  war  it  increases  to  an  enor- 

^  In  some  states  the  law  requires  a  total  of  five  copies. 
2  Bryce,  i.  65,  66. 


THE    FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE  I99 

mous  extent,  and  he  becomes  practically  a  dictator. 
Especially  was  this  true  in  the  Civil  War,  when  Lincoln 
made  use  of  what  were  called  the  war  powers  of  the 
Constitution.  Even  before  Lincoln  died,  and  during  the 
administration  of  Andrew  Johnson,  the  contest  over 
Reconstruction  was  really  a  contest  between  the  execu- 
tive and  legislative  branches  of  the  government.  The 
legislature  was  trying  to  reduce  the  power  of  the  execu- 
tive to  its  normal  condition. 

Eligibility  and  Salary.     No  foreign-born  citizen  can 
now  be  elected  President.     If  such  a  one  was  a  citizen 
at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  he  was 
eligible.     This  provision  was  put  in  out  of  respect  for 
Hamilton  and  others  not  born  in  America,  but  who  had 
been  of  great  service  during  the  Revolution-  Art.ii 
ary  War.     Up  to  1873  the  salary  of  the  Presi-  ^ec.  i., 
dent  was  ;^25,ooo  a  year;  now  it  is  $50,000,  a 
small  sum  compared  with  what  European  rulers  receive. 
He,  however,  has  no  court,  has  a  house  furnished  him 
and  many  expenses  paid,  so  that  the  salary  is  really 
much  more  than  $50,000. 

Executive  Departments.^     The  President  has  large 
powers  in  time  of  war,  because  he  is  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  and  navy,  and  of  the  militia  when  called  into 
actual  service  of  the  United  States.     He  has  the  power 
of  granting  pardons  and  reprieves,  provided  the  offences 
are  against  federal  laws.     The  same  section  that  gives 
him  these  powers  says  that  "  he  may  require   ^j.t  jj 
the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer   ^ec.  u., 
in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any 
subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices." 
The  Constitution   seems   to   take  it  for  granted   that 
executive  departments  will  be  established,  but  nowhere 
1  Bryce,  i.  86-96. 


zoo    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

specially  gives  any  one  the  power  to  create  them.  All  of 
the  departments  have  been  created  by  acts  of  Congress 
as  they  have  been  needed.  The  new  government  needed 
but  four,  and  with  only  four  advisers  Washington  began 
his  administration.  They  were:  Secretary  of  State, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Attor- 
ney-General. At  first  the  Secretary  of  War  attended  to 
all  naval  matters,  but  in  1798  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
was  added.  It  would  be  interesting  to  discover  why 
this  department  was  added  at  this  particular  time.  The 
Department  of  the  Post  Office  was  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  a  Cabinet  position  by  Jackson  in  1829.  The  office 
itself  seems  to  have  existed  from  colonial  times,  when 
Franklin  was  made  deputy  postmaster-general  for  the 
continent.  The  Post  Office,  however,  had  been  a  Bu- 
reau of  the  Treasury  Department  since  1789.  In  1849 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  was  formed,  and  in  1888 
that  of  Agriculture.  There  has  been  some  discussion 
very  recently  about  erecting  the  bureau  of  education 
into  a  separate  department,  and  of  creating  a  new  de- 
partment of  commerce. 

The  Cabinet.  The  heads  of  these  departments  form 
what  is  called  the  President's  Cabinet,  although  the 
word  "cabinet"  is  not  in  the  Constitution.  They  are 
entirely  his  servants,  subordinate  to  him,  and  from  him 
comes  all  their  authority.  They  are  independent  of 
Congress,  but  cannot  be  members  of  either  House  or 
in  any  way  control  legislation.  They  are  appointed  by 
the  President  subject  to  the  consent  of  the  Senate.  In 
practice,  however,  the  Senate  never  refuses  consent. 
Generally  they  are  appointed  because  of  their  influence 
in  the  party  and  their  services  to  the  President  in  the 
election.  Often  the  chief  opponent  to  the  nomination 
of  the  successful  candidate  is  given  the  first  place  in  the 


THE   FEDERAL  EXECUTIVE  201 

cabinet,  —  the  department  of  state.  The  members  of  the 
cabinet  are  almost  invariably  of  the  same  party  as  the 
President.  In  the  first  cabinet  it  was  not  so.  The  idea 
still  existed  that  the  President  and  his  administration 
would  be  above  party  and  would  administer  affairs  from 
a  strictly  national  standpoint.  Jefferson  and  Randolph 
were  of  one  party  and  Hamilton  and  Knox  of  another. 
This  naturally  led  to  trouble,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
the  system  was  changed. 

English  and  American  Cabinets.  The  cabinet  in 
America  is  in  many  ways  different  from  the  cabinet 
in  England.  They  are,  however,  alike  in  this  respect : 
they  have  both  grown  up  wholly  outside  of  the  written 
law.  In  England,  and  France,  too,  the  crown  or  president 
is  obliged  to  choose  his  ministers  from  the  majority 
in  the  House  of  Commons  or  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  is  free  to  choose 
whom  he  will.  In  England  the  crown  is  irresponsible 
as  to  acts  of  government.  The  ministers  of  its  choice 
are  wholly  responsible,  and  may  be  held  to  account  by 
Parliament.  If  measures  they  propose  and  favor  are 
defeated,  they  must  retire  from  office  or  else  appeal  to 
the  country ;  that  is,  they  must  ask  the  people  to  vote 
for  or  against  them.  If  defeated,  they  must  resign.  In 
the  United  States  the  President  is  wholly  responsible 
and  his  cabinet  entirely  irresponsible.  The  President 
is  not  bound  to  consult  his  cabinet  at  all.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet  cannot  sit  in  Congress  and  vote 
upon  any  measure.  Congress  cannot  call  them  to  ac- 
count; and  even  if  measures  they  most  cordially  indorse 
are  defeated  in  Congress,  that  does  not  in  any  way 
affect  their  positions.  If  the  party  to  which  they  be- 
long loses  its  majority  in  Congress,  and  both  Houses, 
by  large  majorities,  are  hostile  to  the  President  and  to 


202     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

them,  they  still  hold  office,  if  they  so  wish,  until  dis- 
missed by  the  President,  or  until  the  term  of  the  Presi- 
dent is  finished. 

Impeachment  and  Messages.  The  President,  as  we 
Art.  II.  have  seen,  may  be  removed  from  office  by  im- 
sec.  IV.  peachment.  So  may  the  Vice-President  and 
any  civil  officer  of  the  United  States.  The  President, 
by  his  message,  gives  Congress  information  as  to  the 
Art.  II.  state  of  the  Union.  The  message  is  addressed 
sec.  111.  hardly  as  much  to  Congress  now  as  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  ;  it  serves  as  a  statement 
of  the  President's  policy,  and  is  often  the  basis  of  the 
campaign  of  the  party  in  the  succeeding  election. 
Washington,  who  was  inclined  to  pomp  and  ceremony, 
delivered  his  messages  in  state  before  both  Houses  ;  so 
did  President  Adams.  But  Jefferson  sent  his  message 
in  writing  to  be  read  by  the  clerk.  This  method  suited 
the  democratic  notions  of  the  people,  and  the  custom 
has  come  down  to  our  times. 

Treaties.  An  important  office  that  a  President  per- 
^^^  ^j  forms  is  that  of  making  treaties  by  and  with 
sec.  ii.  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  Gen- 
erally, however,  the  action  of  the  Senate  is 
limited  to  consent.^  No  treaty  can  be  made  unless 
ratified  by  two  thirds  of  the  senators  present. 

Appointing  Power.  One  of  the  greatest  sources  of 
strength  which  a  President  has,  is  his  power  of  appoint- 
^^  jj  ment.  As  the  United  States  have  grown  and 
sec.  ii.  the  departments  of  the  executive  branch  have 
multiplied,  the  power  that  the  President  has 
acquired  is  enormous.     The  men  who  directly  or  indi- 

^  "  An  interesting  exception  was  in  the  matter  of  the  settlement 
of  the  Oregon  question,  when  Polk  threw  the  final  proposals  of  Eng- 
land into  the  Senate  and  asked  its  advice.     For  the  inside  history 


THE   FEDERAL   EXECUTIVE  203 

rectly  are  subject  to  his  appointment  would  make  a 
great  army.  They  are  scattered  in  large  numbers  all 
over  the  United  States.  They  form  centres  of  political 
activity  and  influence  either  directly  or  indirectly.^  The 
evil  which  has  arisen  from  the  spoils  system  was,  and 
is  yet,  very  great.  However,  a  growing  public  opinion 
against  removal  from  office  or  appointment  to  office  for 
purely  political  considerations  has  tended  to  lessen  the 
evils  connected  with  the  appointing  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent. On  the  whole  the  tendency  is  more  and  more 
to  increase  the  number  of  those  who,  according  to  civil 
service  rules,  are  not  subject  to  removal  for  political 
reasons.  This  is,  however,  one  of  the  problems  of  our 
national  government,  and  in  this  case,  as  in  others,  we 
may  say  that  for  the  people  "eternal  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  liberty." 

SUMMARY 

The  Constitution  provides  for  a  single  executive,  to  be 
chosen  every  four  years,  and  called  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  An  indirect  mode  of  election,  by  electors 
chosen  by  the  voters  in  the  several  states,  was  provided  for, 
but  as  things  have  turned  out  the  people  actually  elect.  The 
President  is  given  very  important  powers,  which  vary  in  extent 
with  circumstances.  Custom,  or  the  unwritten  constitution, 
dictates  that  he  may  be  reelected  but  once. 

of  this  interesting  use  of  the  Senate  in  making  a  treaty,  see  Polk's 
Diary  for  1846,  Lenox  Library,  New  York."  (Quoted  from  Joseph 
R.  Wilson.) 

1  The  appointing  power  is  also  a  source  of  weakness,  because  it 
is  impossible  for  a  President  to  satisfy  all  demands.  His  use  of 
this  power  creates  or  emphasizes  faction  in  his  party  and  makes 
bitter  personal  enemies.  The  best  energies  of  the  President  are 
often  given  to  the  mere  question  of  appointing  to  office,  when  they 
ought  to  be  given  to  the  important  matters  of  his  administration. 


204    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

The  President  has  a  cabinet,  whose  members  are  the  heads 
of  the  executive  departments,  are  appointed  by  him,  and  are 
wholly  responsible  to  him.  The  President  is  now  always  a 
leader  of  one  of  the  political  parties,  and  is  nominated  and 
elected  as  a  party  man.  As  such  he  also  makes  many  ap- 
pointments to  office. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   FEDERAL  JUDICIARY* 

Importance  of  the  Judicial  Department.^  A  judicial 
system  of  equal  range  with  the  legislative  and  execu- 
tive departments  is  an  absolute  necessity.  Laws  are 
general  in  form  and  statement.  It  is  taken  for  granted 
that  all  citizens  will  find  out  what  the  law  on  any  sub- 
ject is,  and  govern  themselves  accordingly.  There  is 
no  attempt  —  in  fact  it  would  be  absurd  to  make  the 
attempt  —  to  prevent  all  the  individuals  of  the  nation  or 
state  from  going  counter  to  the  law.  The  only  practical 
way  of  proceeding  is  to  take  notice  of  cases  where  the 
law  is  believed  to  have  been  violated,  or  some  one  thinks 
himself  injured  by  another's  violation  of  the  intent  of 
some  law.  To  illustrate  :  suppose  there  is  a  law  in  your 
state  declaring  it  to  be  unlawful  for  any  person  to  kill 
grouse  during  the  year  beginning  October  i,  1900.  All 
persons  are  supposed  to  know  the  law.  The  theory  is 
that  "  ignorance  of  the  law  excuses  no  man."  But  some 
sportsman  kills  grouse  in  spite  of  the  law.  Possibly  no 
punishment  overtakes  him.  The  law  does  not  put  itself 
in  motion.  It  is  necessary  that  some  one  be  interested 
in  the  execution  of  the  law  before  it  can  act.  If  a  com- 
plaint is  sworn  out  against  a  man  who  violates  it,  he  is 
brought  to  the  court,  declared  to  have  acted  contrary  to 
the  law,  and  punished  ;  otherwise  not. 

^  See  Organization  of  the  Courts,  1 789-1 793,   Hart,  Formation 
of  the  Union,  pp.  145,  146. 
2  Bryce,  i.  241. 


206    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Suppose  again  there  is  a  law  requiring  division  fences 
between  fields  owned  by  different  proprietors,  and  sup- 
pose they  are  to  be  of  a  certain  height  and  construc- 
tion. One  owner  keeps  his  fence  up  as  required  by  law; 
the  other  does  not.  The  law  does  not  execute  itself 
upon  the  delinquent  property  owner,  but  if  the  adjoin- 
ing owner  is  injured  on  that  account,  he  may  bring  suit 
against  him  for  damages.  The  court  will  say  what  the 
fence  law  means,  and  determine  whether  or  not  it  ap- 
pHes  to  the  case  in  hand,  and  also  whether  the  law  has 
been  violated.  If  it  has  been,  the  suing  owner  has  a 
good  case. 

So  it  appears  that  every  law  must  have  an  interpreter  ; 
and  a  government  without  a  system  of  courts  coextensive 
with  its  law-making  power  is  an  anomaly.  The  states 
have  such  a  system  of  courts.  The  great  power  of  the 
state  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  it  has  a  complete  judicial 
system  independent  of  the  national  system.  A  suit  may 
be  brought  first  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  a  town- 
ship or  other  local  unit.  From  this  court  it  may  for 
good  reasons  be  appealed  to  the  county  or  the  circuit 
court.  Under  certain  circumstances  it  may  go  from 
there  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  state,  but  it  rarely 
gets  over  from  the  state  system  to  the  national  system 
of  courts.^ 

The  Constitution  and  the  National  Courts.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  idea  of  a  government  of  three  depart- 

1  The  famous  Dred  Scott  case  was  taken  on  appeal  from  the 
state  courts  of  Missouri  to  the  Federal  Circuit  Court.  (See  Wil- 
son, Division  and  Reunion^  pp.  197-199.)  In  general,  if  either  party 
rests  his  case  upon  the  Constitution,  or  some  law  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  decision  of  the  state  court  is  against  him,  the  case 
may  be  brought  before  the  United  States  courts.  Otherwise  the 
state  system  is  complete. 


THE   FEDERAL  JUDICIARY  20/ 

ments  was  thoroughly  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  Amer- 
icans. They  had  experienced  the  evils  of  a  government 
^^of  one  department  in  the  Confederation,  where  the  gov- 
ernment was  practically  the  Congress.  One  of  its  great 
defects  was  the  lack  of  a  judiciary  and  an  executive.  So 
when  the  Constitution  was  made  to  take  the  place  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  there  was  care  exercised  to 
provide  for  an  effective  executive  department  and  also 
an  effective  judiciary.  Mr.  Madison,  in  writing  about 
the  work  of  the  proposed  convention  in  April,  1787, 
said :  *'  Let  the  national  supremacy  be  extended  also  to 
the  judiciary  department."  When  the  convention  met, 
there  was  no  difference  of  opinion  on  the  question  of 
having  a  judiciary,  and  it  was  soon  determined  to  have 
a  supreme  court  and  such  inferior  ones  as  the  Congress 
should  see  fit  to  establish.  But  there  was  a  difference 
as  to  the  way  of  appointing  the  judges.  Some  dele- 
gates wished  Congress  to  have  the  power  of  appointing. 
Others  argued  that  it  would  not  do  to  place  their  ap- 
pointment in  the  hands  of  so  large  a  body.  Finally 
it  was  decided  that  "The  judicial  power  of  Art.iii. 
the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Su-  ^^^'  ^' 
preme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress 
may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges, 
both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold 
their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation  which 
shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in 
office."  By  the  preceding  article  of  the  Constitution,  on 
the  powers  of  the  executive,  the  appointment  of  judges 
is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  President  and  the  Senate. 

The  clause  quoted  above  contains  all  that  the  Consti- 
tution has  to  say  directly  on  the  make-up  of  the  national 
system  of  courts.     It  does  not  say  how  many  judges  the 


208    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Supreme  Court  shall  have,  what  shall  be  their  qualifi- 
cations, how  many  inferior  courts  shall  be  established, 
or  what  shall  be  the  qualifications  of  their  judges.  It. 
leaves  all  these  matters  to  Congress. 

Classes  of  United  States  Courts.^  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  Constitution  provided  in  express  terms  for  only 
one  court,  namely,  a  Supreme  Court  ;  but  it  contem- 
plated the  establishment  of  others  by  Congress.  As  the 
matter  has  worked  out,  there  has  been  established  a 
complete  system  of  courts,  with  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  at  the  head.  Aside  from  a  Court  of 
Claims,  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  and  a  Court  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  which  are  special  courts,  the  national 
system  is  as  follows  :  — 

{a)  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  with  a 
chief  justice  and  eight  associate  justices. 

{b)  The  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  presided  over  by  a 
Supreme  Court  justice. 

{c)  The  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States.  There 
are  nine  circuits,  one  for  each  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  who  has  general  supervision  of  judicial  business 
in  the  circuit,  and  is  assisted  by  other  judges. 

{d)  The  District  Courts  of  the  United  States.  There 
is  at  least  one  for  each  state,  and  some  states  have  sev- 
eral, depending  on  the  amount  of  business. 

Appointment,  Tenure  of  Office  and  Salary.  As  has 
already  been  said,  the  judges  of  all  national  courts  are 
appointed  by  the  President  with  the  consent  of  the  Sen- 
ate. They  are  to  hold  office  during  good  behavior,  and 
their  salary  is  not  to  be  diminished  during  their  con- 
Art.  III.  tinuance  in  office.  The  tenure  of  office  makes 
^^''•'-  a  judge  independent  of  the  President,  and  the 

fact  that  the  salary  cannot  be  decreased  during  his  term 
1  Bryce,  i.  ch.  xxii. 


THE   FEDERAL  JUDICIARY  209 

makes  him  practically  independent  of  Congress.  This 
is  necessary  to  secure  an  independent  and  fearless  judi- 
ciary. It  has  been  said  that  the  judiciary  of  a  nation  is 
the  weakest  department,  because  it  has  neither  power 
nor  will,  only  judgment.  The  executive  has  power  as 
head  of  the  military  forces  ;  the  legislative  department 
has  power  because  it  is  in  control  of  the  finances  of  the 
country ;  but  the  judiciary  has  neither  of  these  powers, 
it  is  wholly  dependent  for  the  carrying  out  of  its  decrees 
upon  the  executive  arm  of  the  government.  For  in- 
stance, no  criminal  can  be  judged  by  it  unless  first 
brought  before  the  court  by  the  executive ;  and  the 
judgment  will  go  unexecuted  unless  carried  out  by  the 
executive  power.  So  the  judiciary  must  be  protected 
that  it  may  remain  independent  both  of  the  executive 
and  of  the  legislative  departments.  For  this  reason  the 
appointments  are  made  for  life,  or  during  good  behavior, 
and  the  salary  is  not  to  be  diminished. 

Classes  of  Cases  tried  in  United  States  Courts. 
Section  11.  of  Article  III.  deals  first  with  the  classes  of 
cases  that  may  be  tried  in  the  United  States  courts. 
There  are  ten  classes,  as  follows  :  — 

1.  All  cases  arising  under  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  This  simply  makes  the  judicial  power  of  the 
United  States  coextensive  with  the  law-making  power, 
which  is  necessary,  as  we  have  seen  above.  If  a  man 
violates  the  law  against  counterfeiting  United  States 
money,  he  is  tried  in  a  court  of  the  United  States.  So, 
too,  if  a  man  is  injured  by  a  corporation  like  a  national 
bank,  acting  under  a  United  States  law,  he  sues  in  a 
United  States  court. 

2.  All  cases  arising  under  the  Constitution.  The 
courts  of  the  United  States  are  the  special  guardians  of 
the  Constitution.     Many  things  are  by  the  Constitution 


2IO    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

prohibited  to  the  states.  If  they  disregard  these  prohi- 
bitions, the  cases  arising  under  them  must  be  tried  in 
the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

3.  All  cases  arising  under  treaties  of  the  United 
States.  The  treaty-making  power  is  exclusively  a  na- 
tional power.  Hence,  the  trial  of  cases  under  treaties 
is  reserved  to  the  United  States  courts. 

4.  All  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  min- 
isters, and  consuls.  These  are  representatives  of  for- 
eign powers.  The  United  States  is  responsible  to  the 
foreign  countries  for  their  treatment.  Therefore,  it  must 
have  the  right  of  judgment  in  cases  affecting  them,  in- 
stead of  giving  that  right  to  the  state  courts. 

5.  All  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction. 
The  seas  are  the  highways  of  nations.  Upon  them  the 
commerce  of  the  world  is  carried  on.  The  rights  of 
nations  with  respect  to  the  seas  are  regulated  partly  by 
treaties  and  partly  by  the  law  of  nations.  The  states 
have  given  up  all  power  of  dealing  with  foreign  countries, 
and  they  cannot  make  treaties  or  claim  rights  under 
the  law  of  nations.  Cases  relating  to  maritime  affairs 
naturally,  therefore,  come  to  the  United  States  courts. 

6.  Controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be 
a  party.  In  these  cases,  the  dignity  of  the  United 
States  demands  that  trials  shall  be  held  in  its  own 
courts. 

7.  Controversies  between  two  or  more  states.  One 
great  difficulty  under  the  Confederation  was  the  lack  of 
any  effective  method  of  settling  the  quarrels  of  the 
states.^  This  tribunal  provides  such  a  method.  All 
cases  of  that  kind,  it  is  provided,  may  come  at  once  into 

^  There  was  a  method  provided  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
(see  Art.  IX.),  but  the  states  were  not  obliged  to  submit  their  dis- 
putes, and  practically  the  plan  amounted  to  nothing. 


THE   FEDERAL  JUDICIARY  211 

the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  This  makes 
the  highest  court  in  the  land  the  judge  in  a  quarrel  be- 
tween states.  In  like  manner,  cases  affecting  ambassa- 
dors, etc.,  may  come  into  this  court  at  once.  In  all  the 
other  classes  of  cases,  the  Supreme  Court  has  jurisdic- 
tion only  when  a  case  is  appealed  from  a  lower  court 
of  the  United  States.  This  illustrates  what  is  spoken 
of  in  the  Constitution  as  "  original  "  and  **  appellate  " 
jurisdiction. 

8.  Controversies  between  a  state  and  citizens  of  an- 
other state.^  There  are  the  same  reasons  for  trying 
these  cases  in  the  United  States  courts  as  there  are  for 
the  class  above.  Similar  reasoning  also  applies  to  the 
next  class,  viz.  :  — 

9.  Controversies  between  citizens  of  the  same  state 
claiming  land  under  grants  of  different  states.  This 
would,  or  might,  resolve  itself  into  a  controversy  be- 
tween states. 

10.  Lastly,  controversies  between  a  state,  or  the  citi- 
zens thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 
All  questions  involving  relations  with  foreign  states  are 
proper  subjects  for  the  United  States  courts,  and  cannot 
be  tried  in  the  state  courts.  This  we  have  seen  in  con- 
nection with  classes  3,  4,  and  5  above. 

1  By  the  Eleventh  Amendment  it  is  provided  in  substance  that  a 
state  cannot  be  sued  in  any  but  its  own  courts.  This  amendment 
was  rendered  necessary,  because  the  states  refused  to  submit  to 
being  summoned  as  parties  to  suits  before  the  courts  of  the  United 
States.  Massachusetts,  in  1793,  called  a  special  session  of  her 
legislature,  which  instructed  her  representatives  in  Congress  to  pro- 
cure an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  on  this  point.  Chisholm 
vs.  Georgia  (1792-93)  was  the  first  case  in  which  the  question  of 
jurisdiction  was  argued.  The  Supreme  Court  was  divided  on  it,  but 
the  majority  decided  that  it  had  jurisdiction.  Georgia  refused  to 
appear,  and  judgment  was  rendered  against  her. 


212    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Trial  by  Jury,  and  Treason.  It  is  also  provided  in 
Section  11.  of  Article  III.  that  the  trial  of  all  crimes, 
except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury.  This 
is  carrying  out  an  old  principle  of  English  law,  which 
gives  every  man  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial 
by  a  jury  of  the  neighborhood.  The  same  thing  is  as- 
serted in  the  Sixth  Amendment  to  the  United  States 
Constitution,  and  also  in  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights, 
(page  109). 

The  last  section  of  the  Third  Article  defines  treason, 
and  declares  how  a  man  may  be  convicted  of  that  crime. 
"  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only 
in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  ene- 
mies, giving  them  aid  and  comfort."  Treason  is  gen- 
erally regarded  as  the  blackest  of  all  crimes,  because  a 
traitor  strikes  at  the  very  foundation  of  society  by  at- 
tacking the  state  which  holds  society  together.  There- 
fore, terrible  punishments  have  usually  been  inflicted 
upon  convicted  traitors  in  other  countries.  But  the  idea 
of  treason  is  such  an  unsettling  thing  that  persons 
charged  with  it  have  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  se- 
curing anything  like  a  fair  trial.  There  is  always  a  dis- 
position to  make  out  a  case  of  treason  if  possible.  So 
the  wise  men  who  made*" our  Constitution  thought  well 
to  carefully  define  treason  in  order  to  prevent  abuses. 
And,  for  a  further  safeguard,  they  provided  the  method 
by  which  treason  should  be  proved  against  a  man.  '^  No 
person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testi- 
mony of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  con- 
fession in  open  court."  Thus  it  becomes  very  hard  to 
convict  a  man  of  treason,  and  this  is  well,  for  the  fewer 
trials  for  treason  in  a  country  the  safer  and  calmer  does 
society  remain.  Our  experience  as  a  nation  has  shown 
the  wisdom  of  this  provision. 


THE    FEDERAL  JUDICIARY  213 

The  punishment  of  treason  is,  by  section  iii.,  para- 
graph 2,  left  to  be  declared  by  Congress.  But  there 
shall  not  be,  because  of  treason,  any  "corruption  of 
blood  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person 
attainted."  Corruption  of  blood  means  that  the  heirs 
of  the  attainted  person  cannot  inherit  his  property  ;  for- 
feiture thus  becomes  perpetual,  i.  e.y  the  property  goes 
to  the  government  (is  forfeited),  and  remains  in  its 
hands  for  all  time. 

The  Supreme  Court. ^  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  is  not  only  the  highest  court  in  the  land, 
but  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  courts 
in  the  world.  Its  members  are  always  men  who  have 
gained  a  preeminent  place  in  their  profession  ;  they  are 
usually  advanced  in  years  before  appointment ;  the  ap- 
pointment, being  by  the  President  with  the  consent  of 
the  Senate,  neither  of  whom  can  have  control  over  the 
justice  when  once  appointed,  is  always  carefully  made. 
None  but  men  of  the  very  highest  character  can,  usu- 
ally, hope  for  such  a  place. 

This  court  has  the  last  word  to  say  on  the  constitu- 
tionality of  all  laws  made  by  the  Congress  and  President 
of  the  United  States.  It  also  has  the  duty  of  determin- 
ing whether  the  laws  of  the  states  are  in  harmony  with 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Thus  it  may 
set  aside  the  will  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  as 
well  as  the  will  of  the  people  of  any  state.  This  seems 
like  a  dangerous  power  to  lodge  in  the  hands  of  any 
small  body  of  men.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  court 
simply  judges ;  it  has  no  army  and  no  power  of  com- 
manding the  people's  money.  It  could  not  become  a 
tyrant  if  it  would.  Furthermore,  the  court  has  no  in- 
terests which  differ  in  the  long  run  from  those  of  the 
1  Bryce,  i.  229,  230. 


214    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

people  as  a  whole.  It  may  well  be  that  its  calm,  legal 
judgment  will  sometimes  run  contrary  to  the  temporary 
desires  and  passions  of  the  people  of  the  nation  or  of 
certain  states,  but  this  is  on  the  whole  a  good  thing. 

There  are  many  great  names  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  Supreme  Court.  Among  them  all,  perhaps 
the  greatest  is  that  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  whose 
long  service  during  the  early  years  .of  the  nineteenth 
century  did  so  much  to  make  the  national  government 
what  it  is  to-day. 

SUMMARY 

The  third  department  of  government  provided  for  by  the 
Constitution  is  the  judiciary.  Laws  made  by  the  legislative 
department  and  executed  by  the  executive  department  must 
be  interpreted  and  applied  by  a  judiciary  coextensive  with 
the  other  departments.  The  Constitution,  therefore,  provides 
generally  for  a  system  of  federal  courts.  At  its  head  is  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  courts  in  the  world.  Other 
federal  courts  are  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  the  Circuit 
Court,  and  the  District  Court.  The  judges  of  all  of  these 
courts  are  appointed  by  the  President,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Senate.  They  hold  office  during  good  behavior,  and  receive 
a  salary  which  cannot  be  diminished  during  their  term  of 
office.  These  provisions  render  the  judiciary  independent 
of  both  the  legislative  and  the  executive  departments. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

OTHER    IMPORTANT   PROVISIONS    OF   THE    CONSTITUTION 

What  Congress  is  forbidden  to  do.  We  have 
noted  elsewhere  that  while  Congress  has  great  ^rt.  i.  sec. 
powers,  it  is  also  forbidden  to  do  many  things,  ^^v  p^''-  2. 
One  of  the  most  important  of  these  is  that  it  is  forbid- 
den to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cor- 
pus except  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  public 
safety  may  require  it.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  has 
to  do  with  a  right  that  has  been  jealously  guarded  for 
many  centuries,  and  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  a 
bulwark  of  individual  liberty.  In  early  English  times 
the  king  was  often  a  tyrant.  Without  legal  right  to  do 
so,  and  without  warning,  he  seized  freemen,  imprisoned 
or  outlawed  or  banished  them,  or  took  away  their  lands. 
Once  in  prison  there  was  no  way  in  which  they  could  be 
liberated  except  at  the  king's  will.  So  unbearable  had 
this  injustice  become  that  the  barons  forced  King  John 
to  declare  specifically  in  Magna  Charta  (i2i5)that  these 
things  should  not  be  done  without  due  process  of  law. 

Very  early,  therefore,  grew  up  the  right  of  this  writ. 
Habeas  corpus  means  "  have  the  body."  If  a  person  is 
held  in  confinement,  and  can  show  reason  why  he  is 
unjustly  held,  a  court  or  judge  having  the  power  may 
issue  this  writ.  It  is  issued  generally  to  the  sheriff, 
who  then  has  authority  to  bring  the  person  from  jail  or 
prison  before  the  judge  or  court.  If  unjustly  held,  he 
is  liberated. 


2l6    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Export  Duty  and  Appropriations.  No  tax  or  duty 
Art  I.,  sec.  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^Y  Congress  upon  articles  exported 
ix.,  par.  5.  from  any  state.^  This  provision  is  a  limitation 
upon  the  power  of  Congress  over  commerce,  which 
otherwise  is  nearly  absolute.  It  was  a  concession  to 
the  states  which  many  men  like  Washington  and  Mad- 
ison were  at  first  not  willing  to  make.  To  protect  the 
states  further  from  any  possible  discrimina- 
tion by  Congress  in  favor  of  or  against  any  of 
them,  the  same  section  forbids  Congress  to  make  any 
regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  in  any  way  giving 
the  ports  of  one  state  preference  over  those  of  another. 
Neither  can  Congress  make  any  regulations  requiring 
vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  state  to  enter,  clear,  or 
pay  duties  in  another.  Such  provisions  largely  increased 
the  freedom  of  trade  between  the  states. 

In  order  that  Congress,  which  provides  for  the  raising 
of  revenue  by  taxation,  may  control  the  outgo 
of  it  when  once  collected,  no  money  can  be 
drawn  from  the  treasury  except  by  an  appropriation 
made  by  both  houses.  An  account  of  moneys  received 
and  expended  must  also  be  published  from  time  to 
time. 

What  the  States  cannot  do.^  The  states  are  for- 
Art.i.,sec.  bidden  to  do  many  things  which,  if  they  were 
X.,  par.  I.  sovereign,  they  must  have  had  the  power  to 
do.  They  cannot,  for  instance,  coin  money,  emit  bills 
of  credit,  make  any  law  iiyipairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts, enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation, 
or  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation  provided  that  the  states  should  not,  with- 

^  The  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  allowed  such  a  tax 
if  voted  by  a  two  thirds'  majority  of  Congress. 
^  Bryce,  i.  ch.  xxviii. 


OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     21/ 

out  the  consent  of  Congress,  enter  into  any  alliance 
with  one  of  their  own  number  or  with  a  foreign  state. 
In  this  respect  the  Constitution  followed  the  Articles 
in  the  main.^  In  fact,  many  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion were  suggested  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 

The  Constitution  not  only  gives  to  Congress  full 
power  over  commerce,  but  it  also  forbids  any  ^^^  j  ^^^^ 
state  to  lay,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  ^^  par.  2. 
any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  *'  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its 
inspection  laws  ; "  and  then  Congress  has  the  right  to 
control  and  change  these  laws.  The  trouble  that  so 
nearly  wrecked  the  United  States  under  the  Confeder- 
ation is,  therefore,  carefully  guarded  against. 

Rights  and  Duties  of  States.  Article  IV.  of  the 
Constitution  has  some  very  important  provisions  which 
guarantee  uniformity  among  the  several  states,  so  that 
while  the  country  is  divided  into  many  separate  com- 
monwealths, yet  it  forms  one  comprehensive  whole. 
There  is  no  barrier,  as  in  some  countries,  to  the  removal 
of  a  person  from  one  part  of  the  Union  to  another. 
He  finds  in  his  new  home  practically  the  same  con- 
ditions of  Hfe  as  to  politics,  laws,  and  institutions.  The 
citizens  of  each  state  are  entitled  to  all  the  privileges 
and  immunities  of  the  state  to  which  they  move,  but 
can  carry  none  of  the  local  privileges  peculiar  to  the 
state  from  which  they  came.  Yet  they  find  that  the 
rights  of  liberty,  person,  and  property  are  carefully 
guarded  wherever  they  may  reside.  All  the  public  acts, 
records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  each  state,  upon 
which  the  rights  of  citizens  may  depend,  must  be  given 
full  credit  in  any  other  state  to  which  they  may  go. 

Return  of  Criminals.     Each  state  is  sovereign  within 
^  See  Articles  of  Confederation,  Art.  VI. 


2l8    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

its  borders,  and  some  provision  was  necessary  in  case  of 
a  criminal  fleeing  from  the  scene  of  his  crime  into  an- 
other state.  The  Constitution  makes  it  imperative  that 
he  shall  be  given  up  to  the  authorities  of  the  state  in 
which  the  crime  was  committed.  Nations  have  a  sim- 
ilar provision.  In  their  case  it  is  made  by  treaty,  and 
the  giving  up  of  criminals  is  called  extradition.  These 
treaty  provisions  now  govern  most  of  the  civilized 
nations. 

In  connection  with  this  section  of  the  Constitution 
was  a  clause  made  famous  because  under  it  were  en- 
acted the  fugitive  slave  laws,  that  happily  have  long 
since  passed  away. 

Republican  Form  of  Government.  The  United 
Art.  IV.  States  is  obliged  to  guarantee  to  every  state  a 
sec.  iv.  republican  form  of  government,  and  the  states 
are  thus  as  nearly  uniform  as  it  is  wise  they  should 
be.  They  are  obliged  to  have  this  form  of  government  ; 
any  other  is  practically  prohibited.  It  was  under  the 
provisions  of  this  section,  that  the  difficult  work  of 
reconstruction  was  undertaken  at  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War.  Lincoln,  and  after  him  Johnson,  undertook  a 
method  of  reconstruction  known  as  the  Presidential 
Plan.  The  states  lately  in  rebellion  were  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  Union  after  having  ratified  the  Thir- 
teenth Amendment  and  accepted  the  results  of  the  war. 
This  would  have  left  the  control  of  the  right  to  vote 
in  the  hands  of  the  states,  as  it  was  in  the  Constitution. 
Many  of  the  leaders  in  Congress,  however,  had  come 
to  believe  that  in  order  to  preserve  the  liberty  of  the 
black,  he  must  have  the  ballot.  The  southern  states 
would  never  have  given  it  to  him  of  their  own  accord. 
It  therefore  had  to  be  done  by  the  national  government 
before  the  states  previously  in  rebellion  were  allowed 


OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     219 

to  come  back  into  the  Union.  It  was  necessary  that 
the  states  in  question  be  made  to  agree  to  his  having 
the  ballot  before  they  would  be  allowed  to  send  repre- 
sentatives to  Congress.  It  seemed  to  the  leaders  in 
Congress  that  in  this  way  only  could  the  United  States 
guarantee  to  the  states  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. At  the  same  time  they  had  selfish  ends  in  view, 
and  whether  their  method  of  reconstruction  has  proved 
wise  has  been  questioned  by  many  people.  It  was  a 
very  difficult  problem,  about  which  the  Constitution 
could  give  no  special  help.  The  passions  of  men  were 
greatly  aroused,  and  under  these  circumstances  they 
could  hardly  act  with  cool  judgment.  At  any  rate,  in  the 
struggle  between  the  President  and  Congress,  Congress 
won,  and  the  result  was  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth 
Amendments.  A  later  effect  is  the  new  state  constitu- 
tions in  the  South,  which  largely  take  away  the  negro's 
right  to  vote. 

The  Territorial  System  of  the  United  States.^  Eng- 
land, as  we  all  know,  has  had  for  many  years,  and  still 
has,  colonies  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  France  and 
other  European  countries  have  colonies.  We  seldom 
think,  however,  that  the  United  States  has  been  one  of 
the  greatest  colonizing  nations  in  the  world.  The  move- 
ment of  population  from  England  to  America  did  not 
cease  when  the  thirteen  colonies  were  formed.  The 
movement  from  England  and  Europe  to  America  is  still 
going  on,  and  in  the  United  States  itself  a  like  move- 
ment has  covered  this  part  of  the  continent  with  people 
who  are  mainly  English.  Indeed,  this  march  of  popu- 
lation in  our  country  has  not  ceased  yet,  although  it  has 
crossed  the  continent.  It  is  spreading  into  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific  and  of  the  West  Indies.  The  way  in 
^  Bryce,  i.  ch.  xlvii. 


220    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

which  this  movement  proceeded  has  always  been  in 
reality  that  of  sending  out  colonies.  These  have  grown 
into  communities  of  large  size,  with  many  independent 
powers  of  government,  and  finally  into  independent 
states.  Thus  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  were  colonies 
of  England  that  grew  up  into  distinct,  and  in  some  ways 
radically  different,  communities,  and  finally  developed 
into  states.  So  the  Western  Reserve  in  Ohio  and  the 
Wyoming  country  in  Pennsylvania  were  colonies  of  Con- 
necticut ;  so  was  Kentucky  a  colony  of  Virginia.  In  a 
much  less  distinct  way  Kansas  is  connected  with  New 
England,  and  Nebraska  with  New  York,  and  Oregon 
with  Missouri  and  Tennessee. 

Relation  of  Colonies  to  the  United  States.  As  the 
colonies  grew  in  number  and  importance  it  was  certain 
to  become  a  question  what  their  relation  to  the  mother 
state  or  country  would  be.  If  England  had  been  able 
or  willing  to  take  the  American  colonies  into  the  empire 
on  an  equal  footing  with  England  herself,  she  might 
never  have  lost  them.  Evidently  this  question  was 
going  to  be  a  very  important  one  in  the  United  States 
with  a  very  small  population  and,  especially  after  1803, 
an  enormous  unoccupied  territory. 

There  was  a  difficulty  here.  England  was  a  single 
country.  The  United  States  were  thirteen  separate 
states,  each  sending  out  colonies.  Should  the  Western 
Reserve  always  be  a  colony  subject  to  Connecticut ; 
should  Kansas  be  under  the  control  of  New  England  ? 
Evidently  not ;  for  this  would  bring  endless  trouble  and 
danger.  This  was  the  very  danger  which  the  states 
were  trying  to  avoid  when  they  gave  up  to  the  central 
government  their  claims  to  western  lands,  before  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted.  This  giving 
up  of  the  territory  by  the  states  meant  that  the  nation 


OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION    221 

as  a  whole  should  deal  with  the  colonies,  and  for  the 
government  of  those  in  the  Northwest  Territory  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  was  passed. 

This  was  the  condition  of  things  when  the  new  Con- 
stitution went  into  effect.  The  new  government  in 
turn  had  to  decide  how  it  would  deal  with  the  question 
of  colonies.  It  followed  very  closely  the  Ordinance  of 
1787.  Indeed,  the  first  Congress  under  the  Constitu- 
tion reenacted  the  ordinance,  and  upon  it  as  a  model 
the  government  has  based  its  action  in  regard  to  new 
territory.  When  a  colony  has  grown  into  a  community 
of  five  thousand  people  or  more,  a  territorial  govern- 
ment is  formed  by  Congress,  and  the  colony  becomes  a 
territory.  It  has  now  many  of  the  rights  of  local  self- 
government,  but  its  governors  and  judges  are  always 
appointed  under  authority  of  Congress.  It  cannot,  as 
a  territory,  take  any  part  in  national  affairs,  nor  can  its 
representatives  vote  in  Congress.  In  fact,  it  is  in  much 
the  same  condition  as  many  of  the  American  colonies 
before  the  Revolution. 

Admission  of  States.  As  the  colony,  now  a  terri- 
tory, still  increases,  and  the  population  reaches  Art.  iv. 
a  sufficient  number,  the  people  of  the  territory  ^^^-  "'• 
petition  Congress  for  permission  to  draw  up  a  state 
constitution  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  If  Con- 
gress sees  fit  to  do  so,  it  passes  an  "  Enabling  Act,'* 
which  means  that  the  people  of  the  territory  may  draw 
up  a  state  constitution.  A  convention  is  held  for  that 
purpose,  and,  when  drawn  up,  the  constitution  is  pre- 
sented to  Congress.  If  it  approves,  it  passes  an  act 
admitting  the  territory  into  the  Union  as  a  state.  This 
is  the  usual  way,  but  in  the  case  of  many  states  the 
method  of  procedure  has  varied. 

Was  it  fair  that  the  new  state  should  have  all  the 


222     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

powers  and  privileges  of  states  that  for  many  years  had 
been  members  of  the  Union  ?  The  universal  practice 
of  nations  had  been  not  to  grant  equal  powers  and  privi- 
leges. But,  warned  by  their  experience  with  England, 
the  United  States  early  decided  upon  a  new  plan  of 
dealing  with  colonies  when  they  grew  into  states.  It 
was  determined  that  when  of  sufficient  size  and  advance- 
ment they  should  be  admitted  as  states  into  the  Union, 
with  all  of  the  powers,  privileges,  and  immunities  of  any 
state.  This  decision  has  had  far-reaching  results,  and 
makes  the  United  States  different  from  any  other  na- 
tion. The  addition  of  states  thus  far  has  only  increased 
the  power  of  the  United  States.  It  has  enormously 
extended  the  influence  of  the  national  government  and 
strengthened  the  ties  that  make  us  one  people.  What 
will  be  the  relation  to  the  United  States  of  territory 
acquired  outside  of  the  bounds  of  the  continent  has  yet 
to  be  worked  out  in  detail.  A  recent  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  laid  down  the 
principle  that  the  Constitution  does  not  follow  the  flag ; 
that  the  United  States  may  hold,  subject  to  the  power 
of  Congress,  its  newly  acquired  possessions  as  terri- 
tories. 

Amendments.  Experience  under  the  Confederation 
had  shown  that  it  was  very  unwise  to  make  it  practi- 
cally impossible  to  amend  the  new  Constitution.  It 
was  therefore  decided  that  when  two  thirds  of  both 
Houses  of  Congress  should  think  it  necessary.  Congress 
should  propose  amendments  ;  or  when  the  leg- 
islatures of  two  thirds  of  the  states  asked  to 
have  it  done,  Congress  should  call  a  convention  for 
proposing  amendments  to  the  Constitution.  In  case 
these  amendments  were  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of 
three  fourths  of  the  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three 


OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION    223 

fourths  of  them,  they  should  then  become  as  binding  as 
the  Constitution,  and  indeed  a  part  of  it.  The  method 
first  tried  was  that  of  the  proposal  by  Congress,  and 
the  ratification  by  state  legislatures,  and  no  other  plan 
has  ever  been  attempted.  There  is  now  one  restriction 
on  amendments.  No  state  can  be  deprived  of  its  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate  without  its  consent. 

Bill  of  Rights.  As  we  have  seen,  there  was  great 
opposition  to  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution,  be- 
cause there  was  nothing  in  it  protecting  the  Amend- 
rights  of  the  people  that  were  looked  upon  as  x!^nciu-*° 
fundamental.  Such  were  the  rights  of  per-  s^'^e- 
sonal  liberty,  of  free  speech  and  a  free  press,  and 
others.  The  ratification  was  carried  through  in  many 
states  by  a  virtual  pledge  that  amendments  covering 
these  points  would  be  agreed  to.  Madison  made  it  his 
business  in  the  first  Congress  to  see  that  these  amend- 
ments were  proposed.  Congress  proposed  twelve,  copy- 
ing largely  after  those  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 
Only  ten  were  ratified  by  the  people,  and  these  are  the 
first  ten  amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

Because  of  their  resembling  the  English  and  Virginia 
Bills  of  Rights,  they  are  often  called  the  Bill  of  Rights 
of  the  Constitution.  After  some  discussion,  it  was 
decided  not  to  incorporate  them  in  the  original  docu- 
ment, but  to  place  them  at  the  end  as  a  supplement. 

Fifteen  amendments  in  all  have  been  made.  The  first 
ten  were  ratified  so  early  as  to  be  practically  a  part 
of  the  original  Constitution.  Only  five,  then,  have 
been  made  in  the  course  of  one  hundred  and  ten  years, 
and  three  of  those  were  brought  about  by  the  stress  of 
a  great  war.  The  Constitution  has  proved  very  stable 
in  its  written  form,  and  the  difficulty  in  amending  it 
amounts  to  an  impossibility,  except  in  case  of  danger  or 


224     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

grievous  need.  The  Constitution  is  by  its  own  express 
provision  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  under  it  the 
United  States  have  grown  mightily  in  numbers,  power, 
and  wealth.  It  has  proved  a  marvelous  instrument, 
and  it  will  be  many  years  before  the  world  will  cease  to 
owe  a  heavy  debt  to  the  wise  and  patriotic  men  who 
made  it. 


SUMMARY 

Aside  from  providing  a  frame  of  government  with  legis- 
lative, executive,  and  judicial  departments,  the  Constitution 
contains  a  number  of  special  provisions.  Among  these  are 
several  which  specifically  limit  the  power  of  Congress,  and 
others  that  specifically  limit  the  power  of  the  states.  There 
are  clauses  which  guarantee  to  the  states  a  republican  form 
of  government ;  and  still  others  which  give  to  the  national 
government  power  over  territories.  Finally,  it  provides  defi- 
nite methods  of  securing  its  own  amendment. 


SUGGESTIONS  AND   QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  exact  definitions  of  state^  of  nation^  and  of  confederation. 
Explain  the  differences  between  them. 

2.  Why  was  it  so  difficult  to  adjust  the  relations  of  the  states  and 
the  national  government  in  the  Constitution  ? 

3.  Who  was  John  Locke ;  what  episode  of  Engh"sh  history  was 
he  connected  with ;  and  how  did  his  ideas  of  government  come  to 
influence  the  ideas  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  ? 

4.  Why  is  a  government  of  three  departments  desirable;  in  what 
respects  is  it  less  effective  than  one  of  a  single  department.? 

5.  What  advantage  would  a  one-chambered  legislature  have  over 
one  of  two  chambers  ? 

6.  Which  of  the  three  great  compromises  of  the  Constitution  was 
most  fundamental,  and  why  ? 

7.  The  makers  of  the  Constitution  have  at  various  times  been 
charged  with  compromising  moral  principles,  especially  with  regard 


OTHER  PROVISIONS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION    22$ 

to  the  slave-trade.     Is  the  charge  well  founded?     Was  slavery  a 
moral  question  with  the  American  people  as  a  whole  in  1787? 

8.  Who  are  persons  bound  to  service  for  a  period  of  years,  and 
what  great  evils  were  connected  with  such  service  during  colonial 
times?  See  Channing's  Students'  History  of  the  United  States^ 
p.  66  ;  or  Fiske's  School  History^  p.  71. 

9.  What  connection  is  there  between  our  method  of  originating 
revenue  bills  (by  the  House  of  Representatives)  and  the  early  English 
custom  of  voting  supplies  for  the  king?  See  Introduction,  pages  10 
to  12. 

10.  Why  did  the  Constitution  distinguish  between  the  "  most 
numerous  branch "  and  the  least  numerous  branch  of  the  state 
legislatures  in  specifying  the  qualifications  for  electors  of  repre- 
sentatives ? 

11.  What  is  the  significance  of  the  term  "  Czar  "  as  applied  to  a 
recent  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ? 

12.  Give  arguments  for  and  against  the  advisability  of  giving  the 
President  the  power  of  vetoing  bills,  as  the  Constitution  does. 

13.  Mention  some  "  post  roads  "  within  your  state.  Were  they 
built  by  authority  of  Congress  ?  If  not,  why  are  they  called  post 
roads  ? 

14.  What  were  the  ''Alien  and  Sedition  "  laws,  and  how  was  the 
power  of  passing  naturalization  laws  involved  in  them  ?  See  Chan- 
ning's Students^  History^  pp.  306-308. 

15.  What  is  the  argument  in  favor  of  granting  patents  and  copy- 
rights ?     Are  there  any  arguments  against  it  ? 

16.  Are  all  Americans  forbidden  to  receive  titles  from  foreign 
sovereigns?  Select  the  parts  of  the  Constitution  bearing  on  this 
question ;  also  give  examples,  if  possible,  to  verify  your  answer. 

17.  What  is  the  nature  of  "civil  service  reform?"  See  Bryce, 
ii.  609. 

18.  Is  it  possible  for  a  person  to  be  elected  to  the  presidency  with 
less  than  a  majority  of  the  popular  vote  in  his  favor?     Explain. 

19.  Might  the  President,  if  he  chose  to  do  so,  make  the  Vice- 
President  a  member  of  his  cabinet  ? 

20.  "  One  verb  in  the  Constitution  having  been  written  in  the 
passive  instead  of  the  active  voice  made  necessary  the  Electoral 
Commission  to  settle  the  Hayes-Tilden  controversy.  Find  the 
word  and  explain."     (Quoted  from  S.  Y.  Gillan.) 

21.  Why  is  not  Washington  regarded  as  a  traitor  by  the  British  ? 

22.  Make  a  list  of  the  chief  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  How 
does  it  compare  in  length  with  the  list  of  Presidents  ? 


226     GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

23.  How  did  the  Eleventh  Amendment  affect  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  the  states  were  regarded  as  sovereign  powers?  See 
Bryce,  i.  235. 

24.  How  was  the  Dartmouth  College  Case  connected  with  the 
question  of  state  sovereignty  ? 

25.  Why  did  the  Confederate  Constitution  allow  an  export  tax? 

26.  Find  how  much  time  elapsed  between  the  proposal  of  each 
of  the  last  five  amendments  to  the  Constitution  and  its  proclama- 
tion by  the  President  as  a  part  of  the  instrument.   What  inference  ? 

27.  Compare  sec.  i.  of  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  with  Article 
VI.  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  See  copy  of  the  Ordinance  in 
Larned,  History  for  Ready  Reference. 

28.  Compare  and  contrast  the  American  system  of  colonization 
with  the  systems  of  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the  English. 

29.  Compare  and  contrast  the  American  policy  of  naturalization 
'with  that  of  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the  English. 

30.  Do  banks  chartered  by  the  states  have  the  right  to  issue 
bank  notes?  Consider  in  this  connection  Art  I.,  sec.  x.,  para- 
graph I,  of  the  Constitution. 

31.  Explain,  by  reference  to  the  Constitution,  how  there  can  be 
an  "  interstate  commerce  "  law  and  an  "  interstate  commerce  com- 
mission." 

32.  What  clauses  of  the  Constitution  had  a  bearing  on  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana,  on  the  acquisition  of  Texas,  on  the  acquisition 
of  the  Philippines  ? 


THE   CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Preamble. 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide 
for  the  common  defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure 
the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain 
and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

Article  I.    Legislative  Department. 

Section  I.     Congress  in  General, 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

Section  II.    House  of  Representatives. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and 
the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for 
electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  at- 
tained to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  ac- 
cording to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by 
adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound 
to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three  fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be 
made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years, 
in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.    The  number  of  Repre- 


228     GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

sentatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each 
State  shall  have  at  least  one  Representative ;  and  until  such  enume- 
ration shall  be  made,  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled 
to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five.  New  York  six.  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten, 
North  Carolina  five.  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill 
such  vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III.    Senate. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six 
years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into 
three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be 
vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year ;  of  the  second  class, 
at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third  may  be  chosen  every 
second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation  or  otherwise 
during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that 
State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent/r^  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice 
shall  preside :  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concur- 
rence of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present 


THE   CONSTITUTION  229 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy 
any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States ;  but 
the  party  convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  in- 
dictment, trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  IV.    Both  Houses. 

1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the 
legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  anytime  by  law  make 
or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Sen- 
ators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they 
shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 

1.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum  to  do  business  ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn 
from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance 
of  absent  members,  in  such  manner,  and  under  such  penalties,  as 
each  house  may  provide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  pun- 
ish its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence 
of  two  thirds,  expel  a  member. 

3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their 
judgment  require  secrecy,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of 
either  house  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one  fifth  of  those 
present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to 
any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI.    Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

I.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compensa- 
tion for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law  and  paid  out  of 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases  except 
treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest 
during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses, 


230    GOVERNMENT    OF  THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any  speech 
or  debate  in  either  house  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other 
place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolu- 
ments whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time ;  and  no 
person  holding  any  offite  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  mem- 
ber of  either  house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Section  VII.    Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amend- 
ments as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it, 
but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in 
which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large 
on  their  journal  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  reconsid- 
eration two  thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall 
be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which 
it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two  thirds  of 
that  house  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of 
both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names 
of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on 
the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  re- 
turned by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after 
it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like 
manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjourn- 
ment prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  maybe  necessary  (except 
on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States ;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall 
be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed 
by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  biUL 


THE   CONSTITUTION  231 

Section  VIII.    Powers  granted  to  Congress. 
The  Congress  shall  have  power  : 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay 
the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare 
of  the  United  States ;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be 
uniform  throughout  the  United  States  ; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

4.  To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States ; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin, 
and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  by  securing 
for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to 
their  respective  writings  and  discoveries ; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas  and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations; 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water ; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  ; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land 
and  naval  forces ; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  mihtia  to  execute  the  laws  of 
the  Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions ; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  mili- 
tia, and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the 
appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

1 7.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever  over 
such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of 
particular  States  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  author- 


232    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

ity  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the 
State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  maga- 
zines, arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings  ;  and 

1 8.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof.! 

Section  IX.    Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall  not  be  pro- 
hibited by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  im- 
portation, not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public 
safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be 
taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another ;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear, 
or  pay  duties  in  another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement 
and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money 
shall  be  pubUshed  from  time  to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States  ;  and 
no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolu- 
ment, office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince, 
or  foreign  State. 

Section  X.    Powers  denied  to  the  States. 

I.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation ; 
grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;    coin  money ;  emit  bills  of 

1  This  is  the  Elastic  Clause  in  the  interpretation  of  which  arose  the  original  and 
fundamental  division  of  political  parties.    See  above,  p.  269. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  233 

credit ;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment 
of  debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  im- 
pairing the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  pro- 
duce of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or 
exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States ; 
and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the 
Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter 
into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  for- 
eign power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded  or  in  such 
imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

Article  II.    Executive  Department. 

Section  I.    President  and  Vice-President. 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term 
of  four  years,  and  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the 
same  term,  be  elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  num- 
ber of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  en- 
titled in  the  Congress ;  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  person 
holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be 
appointed  an  elector. 

3.  [The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhab- 
itant of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a 
list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to 
the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the 
certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  hav- 
ing the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  num- 
ber be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if 
there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal 


234    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immedi- 
ately choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said 
House  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing 
the  President  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation 
from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall 
consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and 
a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every 
case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the  great- 
est number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President. 
But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the 
Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.]  ^ 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors 
and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day  shall  be 
the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

5.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be 
eligible  to  that  ofllice  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the 
United  States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President,  and 
the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death, 
resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President, 
declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer 
shall  act  accordingly  until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President 
shall  be  elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a 
compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  dur- 
ing the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall 
not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United 
States  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office  he  shall  take  the 
following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

1  This  clause  of  the  Constitution  has  been  amended.    See  Amendments,  Art 


THE   CONSTITUTION  235 

Section  II.    Powers  of  the  President. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States 
when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States ;  he  may 
require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of 
the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties 
of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  re- 
prieves and  pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United  States,  except 
in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators 
present  concur ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and,  by  and  with  the  ad- 
vice and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other 
pubHc  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all 
other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by 
law  ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such 
inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in 
the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commis- 
sions which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III.    Duties  of  the  President. 

He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of 
the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such 
measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on 
extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them, 
and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them  with  respect  to  the  time 
of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think 
proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers ; 
he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall 
commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.    Impeachment. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for  and  con- 
viction of  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemean- 
ors. 


236    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLE 

Article  III.    Judicial  Department. 

Section  I.     United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one 
Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may 
from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the 
supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good 
behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a 
compensation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continu- 
ance in  office. 

Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Courts. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and 
equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their 
authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  minis- 
ters, and  consuls ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdic- 
tion ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party ; 
to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States  ;  between  a  State  and 
citizens  of  another  State ;  between  citizens  of  different  States ;  be- 
tween citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of 
different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and 
foreign  States,  citizens,  or  subjects.^ 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  be- 
fore mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdic- 
tion, both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such 
regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall 
be  by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the 
said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed;  but  when  not  committed 
within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the 
Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  III.     Treason. 

I.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levy- 
ing war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them 
aid  and  comfort.     No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless 
1  This  clause  has  been  amended.    See  Amendments,  Art.  XI. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  237 

on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  con- 
fession in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood 
or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

Article  IV.  — The  States  and  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. 

Section  I.     State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public 
acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And 
the  Congress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which 
such  acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect 
thereof. 

Section  II.    Privileges  of  Citizens^  etc. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State, 
shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which 
he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  juris- 
diction of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any 
law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor, 
but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  ser- 
vice or  labor  may  be  due.^ 

Section  III.    New  States  and  Territories. 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of 
two  or  more  States  or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Con- 
stitution shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the 
United  States  or  of  any  particular  State. 

1  This  clause  has  been  canceled  by  Amendment  XIII.,  which  abolishes  slavery. 


238    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

Section  IV,  Guarantee  to  the  States. 
The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union 
a  repubhcan  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the 
executive  (when  the  legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  do- 
mestic violence. 

Article  V.    Power  of  Amendment. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or, 
on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which  in 
either  case  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  part  of  this 
Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three  fourths  of 
the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof,  as 
the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Congress,  provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior 
to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any 
manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of 
the  first  article;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be 
deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

Article  VI.    Public  Debt,  Supremacy  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, Oath  of  Office,  Religious  Test. 

1.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land;  and  the  judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  officers  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States, 
shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution; 
but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any 
office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  239 

Article  VII.    Ratification  of  the  Constitution. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  suf- 
ficient for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States 
so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States 
present,!  the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of 
the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  twelfth. 
In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

George  Washington,  President,  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 

New  Hampshire  —  John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Oilman. 

Massachusetts  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus  King. 

Connecticut  —  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman. 

New  York  —  Alexander  Hamilton. 

New  Jersey  —  William  Livingston,  David  Brearly,  William  Pat- 
terson, Jonathan  Dayton. 

Pennsylvania  —  Benjamin  Frankhn,  Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert 
Morris,  George  Clymer,  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  Jared  Ingersoll, 
James  Wilson,  Gouverneur  Morris. 

Delaware  —  George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  Jr.,  John  Dickin- 
son, Richard  Bassett,  Jacob  Broom. 

Maryland  —  James  McHenry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer, 
Daniel  Carroll. 

Virginia  —  John  Blair,  James  Madison,  Jr. 

North  Carolina  —  William  Blount,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Hugh  Williamson. 

South  Carolina  —  John  Rutledge,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinck- 
ney,  Charles  Pinckney,  Pierce  Butler. 

Georgia  —  William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin. 

Attest :  William  Jackson,  Secretary, 

1  Rhode  Island  sent  no  delegates  to  the  Federal  Convention. 


240    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

AMENDMENTS.* 

Article  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  re- 
ligion, or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  re- 
dress of  grievances. 

Article  II. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

Article  III. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  man- 
ner to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

Article  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

Article  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand 
jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the 
mihtia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  shall 
private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

Article  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and 

1  Amendments  L  to  X.  were  proposed  by  Congress,  Sept.  25,  1789,  and  de- 
clared in  force  Dec.  15,  1791. 


AMENDMENTS  241 

district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  dis- 
trict shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to  be  confronted 
with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for 
obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of 
counsel  for  his  defense. 

Article  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  reexamined  in  any 
court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com- 
mon law. 

Article  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not 
be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

Article  X. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitu- 
tion, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively  or  to  the  people. 

Article  XI.^ 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed 
to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or 
by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

Article  Xll.a 

I.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least- 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves ;  they 
shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and 
in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  March  5,  1794,  and  declared  in  force  Jan.  8,  1798. 

2  Proposed  by  Congress  Dec.  12,  1803,  and  declared  in  force  Sept.  25,  1804. 


242    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President  and 
of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each ;  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  trans- 
mit sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the 
Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, open  all  the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for 
President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers 
not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the 
President.  But  in  choosing  the  President  the  votes  shall  be  taken 
by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two  thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall 
devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following, 
then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  President. 

2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-Pres- 
ident shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  a 
majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate 
shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall 
consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Pres- 
ident shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 

Article  XHI.^ 

1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punish- 
ment for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  the  United  States  or  any  place  subject  to  their 
jurisdiction. 

2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
priate legislation. 

I  Proposed  by  Congress  Feb.  i,  1865,  and  declared  in  force  Dec.  18, 1865. 


AMENDMENTS  243 

Article  XIV.^ 

1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  sub- 
ject to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  en- 
force any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  per- 
son of  hf e,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law ;  nor 
deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of 
the  laws. 

2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number 
of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when 
the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Representa- 
tives in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or 
the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male 
inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  par- 
ticipation in  rebellion,  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation 
therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of 
such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens 
twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress, 
or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil 
or  military,  under  the  United  States  or  under  any  State,  who,  hav- 
ing previously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State  legisla- 
ture, or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insur- 
rection or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to 
the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds 
of  each  house,  remove  such  disability. 

4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  author- 
ized by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and 
bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall 
not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State 
shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insur- 
rection or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the 
loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations, 
and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

1  Proposed  by  Congress  June  16,  1866,  and  declared  in  force  July  28, 1868. 


244    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   PEOPLE 

5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate 
legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

Article  XV.i 

1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be 
denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  ac- 
count of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  ap- 
propriate legislation. 


APPENDIX   B. 

THE  STATES   CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO  ORIGIN. 

1.  The  thirteen  original  states. 

2.  States  formed  directly  from  other  states : 

Vermont  from  territory  disputed  between  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire;  Kentucky  from  Virginia;  Maine  from 
Massachusetts ;  West  Virginia  from  Virginia. 

3.  States  from  the  Northwest  Territory : 

Ohio,  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 

Indiana,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  in  part 

4.  States  from  other  territory  ceded  by  states : 

Tennessee,  ceded  by  North  CaroHna, 

Alabama,  ceded  by  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 

Mississippi,  ceded  by  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

5.  States  from  the  Louisiana  purchase  : 
Louisiana,  Nebraska,  Montana, 
Arkansas,                Iowa,                              Minnesota,  in  part, 
Missouri,                  North  Dakota,  Wyoming,  in  part, 
Kansas,                    South  Dakota,  Colorado,  in  part 

6.  States  from  Mexican  cessions : 

California,  Utah,  Wyoming,  in  part, 

Nevada,  Colorado,  in  part 

7.  States  from  territory  defined  by  treaty  with  Great  Britsun  : 

Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho. 

8.  States  from  other  sources : 

Florida,  from  a  Spanish  cession, 
Texas,  by  annexation. 
^  Proposed  by  Congress  Feb.  26,  1869,  and  declared  in  force  March  30, 1870^ 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Adams,  Samuel,  promotes  union  among 
the  colonies,  139. 

Albany  Convention,  135. 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution,  the  first 
ten,  154,  223;  the  fifteenth,  166;  the 
fourteenth,  167;  the  twelfth,  194;  the 
sixth,  212;  how  made,  222;  text  of,  240- 
244. 

Annapolis  Convention,  148. 

Assemblies,  representative,  in  royal  colo- 
nies, 97. 

Assessor,  of  a  town,  23,  39  note;  of  a 
county,  33  ;  pay  of  town,  41. 

Bill  of  Rights,  in  the  Virginia  Constitu- 
tion, 108-110;  in  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion, 154^  223. 

Borough,  Its  origin,  and  its  control  by  a 
corporation,  14. 

Boston,  its  town  government,  6g;  becomes 
a  city,  70. 

Burgesses,  House  of,  19. 

Cabinet,  the  President's,  how  composed, 
200;  compared  to  the  English,  201. 

Canton,  a  German  political  division,  7. 

Cavaliers,  in  Virginia,  130. 

Charters,  early  civic,  14 ;  modem  city,  69- 
78 ;  those  granted  the  colonies,  loo. 

Chicago,  its  remarkable  growth,  66;  its 
first  charter,  76 ;  later  charters,  77,  78. 

Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  must 
preside  at  an  impeachment,  183. 

Cities,  forces  which  led  to  their  formation, 
61-65  )  commerce,  62  ;^  manufacturing, 
63  ;  trade  with  the  interior,  64 ;  their  un- 
exampled growth,  66;  difficult  problem 
of  their  government,  67 ;  Boston  city 
government,  71;  city  charter  of  Phila- 
delphia, 72-76 ;  of  Chicago,  76-78 ;  or- 
ganization of  modern  city  governments, 
80-82 ;  reasons  for  difficulties  in  govern- 
ing, 82 ;  corruption  in  the  governments  of, 
85  ;  remed)^  for  bad  city  governments,  86, 
87  ;  necessity  for  attention  to  municipal 
affairs  by  respectable  citizens,  88. 

Clerk,  town,  22 ;  county,  34 ;  pay  of  town, 
41. 

Coinage  of  money,  controlled  by  Congress, 
186. 

Colony,  use  of  the  word,  93 ;  identical  with 
the  church  in  the  Puritan  settlements, 
94 ;  as  distinguished  from  a  state,  104, 
{See  English  Colonies.) 

Commerce,  its  effect  on  city  growth,  61,  62, 


64,  65 ;  troubles  over,  bring  about  the 
Federal  Constitution,  147. 

Commons,  House  of,  how  chosen,  its 
power,  II,  12. 

Confederation,  Articles  of,  142 ;  weakness 
of  the  government  under,  144. 

Congress  of  the  United  States,  its  lack  of 
power  under  the  Confederation,  143,  145  ; 
first,  under  the  Constitution,  154;  the 
question  of  two  branches,  172;  method 
of  representation  in,  173  ;  apportionment 
of  representatives,  175;  suffrage  and 
election  districts,  177;  organization  of 
the  upper  branch,  182 ;  sessions  of,  184 ; 
powers  of,  185;  implied  powers,  188; 
checks  on,  189;  cannot  suspend  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  except  in  rebellions  or  in- 
vasions, 215;  cannot  levjr  export  duties 
but  controls  all  appropriations,  216.  {See 
Senate  and  Representatives,  House  of.) 

Connecticut,  early  written  constitution,  142. 

Constables,  39  note. 

Constitution,  origin  of  the  written,  141;  diffi- 
culties in  forming  the  United  States,  147 ; 
opposition  to,  151;  ratified,  152;  put  into 
effect,  154;  difficulty  of  adjusting  power 
between  state  and  nation,  161 ;  three  de- 
partments of  government  under,  162; 
delegated  and  implied  powers,  163 ;  a 
growth,  not  a  creation,  164 ;  the  unwritten 
additions  to  it,  166 ;  the  document  itself 
merely  a  framework,  168 ;  its  provisions 
for  a  congress,  172-190  {See  Congress, 
Senate,  and  Representatives,  House  of)  ; 
for  an  executive,  191-203  {See  Presi- 
dent and  Cabinet) ;  for  a  Judiciary,  205- 
214  {See  Courts);  other  provisions  of, 
215-224;  does  not  follow  the  flag,  222; 
text  of,  227-239. 

Continental  Congress,  recommends  state 
governments,  103,  104;  extent  of  its 
power,  106;  the  first,  139;  the  second, 
its  assumption  of  authority,  140. 

Conventions.  See  Albany,  Annapolis,  Fed- 
eral, and  Party. 

Coroner,  33. 

Correspondence,  Committees  of,  102,  139. 

Council,  the  governor's,  in  a  royal  colony, 
97 ;  in  a  proprietary  colony,  98 ;  in  Vir- 
ginia, under  the  first  constitution,  113. 

County,  its  origin,  9;  its  government  in 
England  in  1600,  14,  15  ;  imitated  in 
the  English  Colonies,  18 ;  form  it  as- 
sumed in  Virginia,  20  ;  in  Massachusetts, 
23;  early  form  in  Oregon,  29-31;  present 


248 


INDEX 


form  and  oflScers,  31-34 ;  its  form  in  Wis- 
consin, 41,  42;  the  best  unite  for  road 
management,  55. 

County  Commissioners,  in  Oregon,  29. 

County  Court,  9;  in  1600,  15;  in  early 
Virginia,  20;  in  Massachusetts,  23;  in 
Oregon,  29. 

County  Judge,  in  Oregon,  31. 

County  palatine,  ^8. 

Courts  ol  the  United  States,  provision  for, 
in  the  Constitution,  207  ;  classes  of,  208 ; 
kind  of  cases  tried  by,  209-211. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  its  meaning, 
and  importance  to  the  country,  104-106. 

Delegates,  House  of,  xii. 

Departments,  executive,  in  the  Federal 
Government,  199. 

Edward  I.  and  Parliament,  12. 

Electoral  College,  193,  197,  198. 

England,  Church  of,  in  the  southern  Amer- 
ican colonies,  129. 

English  Colonies,  earliest,  in  America,  17; 
resembled  in  organization  the  counties  of 
England,  18;  their  smaller  political  sub- 
divisions, 19  ;  difference  of  development 
in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  20^24 ; 
expansions  of  their  institutions,  in  two 
currents,  25-28;  character  of  the  New 
England,  93 ;  increased  number  of  towns 
in,  94,  95  ;  development  of  the  southern, 
95 ;  experiments  in  governing  the  early, 
96  ;  method  in  the  royal  colonies,  96,  97 ; 
m  proprietary  colonies,  98,  99;  in  charter 
colonies,  99,  100;  comparison  of  their 
government  with  that  of  England,  100, 
loi ;  their  attitude  toward  Parliament, 
loi ;  conversion  of  their  governments 
into  state  governments,  102-104;  their 
separation  at  first,  T27 ;  religious  differ- 
ences, ia8  ;  race  difFerences,  129  ;  Puri- 
tans and  cavaliers,  130 ;  lack  of  inter- 
course among,  131  ;  different  political 
conditions,  132;  early  dangers  to,  133; 
attempts  at  union,  134;  differences  of  opin- 
ion between  England  and  America,  136; 
progress  of  union,  158;  continental  con- 
gresses, 140. 

English  Government,  just  after  the  Saxon 
conquest,  8;  in  the  13  th  century,  11,  12; 
in  1600,  13,  14. 

English  Language,  its  development,  2. 

Executive  Department,  in  cities,  81  (See 
Mayor) ;  under  the  first  Virginia  consti- 
tution, III  ;  growth  in  the  power  of,  113  ; 
instates  at  present,  118;  in  the  Federal 
government,  191-203  (See  President  and 
Cabinet). 

Federal  Convention,  its  meeting,  14^ ; 
plans  of  government  submitted,  150 ;  dis- 
sensions, 151 ;  its  unauthorized  acts,  152. 

"  Federalist,  The,"  153. 

Fence- viewer,  23. 

Fiske,  John,  quotation  from,  141. 

Frankhn,  Benjamin,  his  post  system,  131  ; 
his  plan  of  colonial  union  at  Albany,  136 ; 


submits  a  plan  of  government  to  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  141;  at  the   Federal 
convention,  149;  anecdote  of,  154. 
Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut,  first 
written  constitution,  142. 

Germans,  their  territory  and  condition  in 
the  first  century,  3 ;  conquer  Rome,  4 ; 
their  political  system,  5  ;  villages,  6;  can- 
tons and  tribes,  7 ;  settlement  in  Britain 
and  changes  in  the  political  system,  8. 

"  Gerrymandering,"  178. 

Government,  the  result  of  growth,  i ;  rise 
of  representative,  9 ;  early  form  of  na- 
tional, 10;  local  in  1600,  13;  imported  to 
America,  17;  Virginia  county,  20;  of  a 
township,  22  ;  of  an  Oregon  county,  31 ; 
of  a  Wisconsin  township,  36 ;  of  certain 
cities,  69 ;  of  cities  generally,  80 ;  of  colo- 
nies, 96 ;  first  state,  108  ;  separation  of, 
into  three  departments,  iii,  115;  general 
features  in  states  at  present,  117 ;  general 
success  in  states,  120;  the  Federal,  160 
ei  seq. 

Governor,  his  office  and  power  in  royal 
colonies,  97 ;  in  proprietary  colonies,  98  ; 
chosen  by  legislature  under  the  Virginia 
Constitution  of  1776,  112;  growth  in  his 
power,  1 13  ;  under  present  state  consti- 
tutions, 118. 

Great  Charter,  II,  142. 

Habeas  Corpus,  writ  of,  cannot  be  sus- 
pended by  Congress  except  in  case  of  re- 
bellion or  invasion,  215. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  his  exertion  in  behalf 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  148,  151, 153  ; 
charged  with  trying  to  erect  a  monarchy, 
172. 

Hooker,  Thomas,  author  of  the  first  written 
constitution  in  Connecticut,  142. 

Hundred,  a  Germanic  political  division,  8  ; 
disappears,  14. 

Impeachment,  method  of  procedure,   183; 

president  subject  to,  202. 
Implied  powers,  under  the   Constitution, 

164,  188. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  his  "  Summary  View  of 
the  Rights  of  the  Colonies,"  lOi ;  his 
opposition  to  John  Marshall,  166 ;  anec- 
dote of  Washington  and,  173. 

John,  King,  and  the  Barons,  11. 

Judicial  Department,  in  cities,  82 ;  under 
the  first  Virginia  Constitution,  114;  in 
state  governments  at  present,  119;  in  the 
Federal  government,  205-214;  its  impor- 
tance, 205 ;  provisions  for  in  the  Consti- 
tution, 206  ;  its  jurisdiction,  209-2x1 ;  the 
Supreme  Court,  213.     (See  Courts.) 

Jury,  origin  of  the,  13  ;  trial  by,  required  by 
the  United  States  Constitution,  212. 

Justices  of  the  peace,  15,  39  note;  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  208. 

Land  surveys,  44. 

Legislative  department,  in  cities,  80;  in 


INDEX 


249 


colonies,  97 ;  under  the  first  Virginia  con- 
stitution, in;  in  state  governments  at 
present,  1 18 ;  in  tlie  Federal  government, 
172-190  (See  Congress,  Senate,  and  Re- 
presentatives, House  of). 
Lords,  House  of,  12. 

Madison,  James,  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,  148,  150,  151,  153  ; 
his  views  on  the  judiciary,  207. 

Magna  Charta,  11,  142. 

Manufacturing,  its  tendency  to  encourage 
the  growth  of  cities,  63. 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  established  the 
doctrine  of  implied  powers,  164 ;  and  of 
derivation  of  power  from  the  people  di- 
rect, 169  ;  his  services  to  the  country,  2 14. 

Maryland,  its  government  under  Lord  Bal- 
timore, 98,  99;  Catholics  in,  128. 

Massachusetts,  founded,  17;  conditions  fa- 
vorable to  formation  of  townships,  21  ; 
counties  in,  23;  a  charter  colony,  100;  its 
conversion  into  a  state,  102,  103. 

Mayflower  Compact,  142. 

Mayor,  under  the  Boston  charters,  71,  72  ; 
in  Philadelphia,  74 ;  growth  of  his  power 
there,  76;  in  Chicago,  77,  78;  in  cities 
generally,  81 ;  increase  of  his  power  as  a 
remedy  for  corruption,  87. 

Message,  the  President's,  202. 

Naturalization,  186. 

New  England  Confederation,  134. 

New  Hampshire,  colonial  government,  97  ; 
its  organization  as  a  state,  103. 

New  Haven,  Republic  of,  95. 

New  Jersey  Plan,  in  the  Federal  conven- 
tion, 150. 

New  York  city,  its  remarkable  growth,  65. 

New  York  State;  organization  of,  as  a 
state,  102;  Dutch  settlers  in,  129, 

Nomination  of  President,  how  accom- 
plished, 196,  197. 

North   Carolina,   Scotch-Irish   settlers  in, 

130-  .      . 

North  Dakota,  length  of  its  constitution, 
116  ;  reasons  for  this,  117. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  45. 

Oregon,   early  form  of  county  in,  29-31; 

county  commissioners  and  judge  in,  31  ; 

sheriff,  32;    other    county    officers,    33, 

34- 

Paine,  Thomas,  his  pamphlets,  103,  and 
note. 

Parish,  developed  from  the  town,  13,  14, 
and  note. 

Parliament,  the  English  {,See  also  Commons 
and  Lords),  its  formation,  12;  its  claims 
of  supremacy  in  America,  loi. 

Party  Conventions,  for  nominating  candi- 
dates, 196,  197. 

Patent  Office,  entrusted  to  Congress,  188. 

Penn,  William,  powers  granted  to,  99;  his 
scheme  of  colonial  union,  135. 

Pennsylvania,  proprietary  government  in, 
99. 


"  People,  The,"  meaning  of  the  expression 
in  the  Constitution,  163  note,  179. 

Philadelphia,  largest  American  city  in  1790, 
66 ;  its  government  under  the  charter  of 
1 70 1,  72,73;  charter  of  17S9,  74,  75  ;  char- 
ter of  1854  and  1887,  76. 

Post  Office  system,  entrusted  to  Congress, 
187. 

Pound-keeper,  23. 

President  of  the  United  States,  his  power, 
191  ;  questions  with  regard  to,  in  the 
Federal  convention,  192  ;  method  of  elect- 
ing, 193,  194 ;  is  now  a  strict  party  man, 
195;  nominated  in  a  party  convention, 
196 ;  power  in  war-time,  198 ;  eligibility 
and  salary,  199;  his  responsibility,  201  ; 
duties  and  powers,  202. 

Public  Schools,  land  reserved  for,  45  ;  man- 
agement of,  46  ;  necessity  for,  in  Amer- 
ica, 48 ;  origin  and  defects  of  the  district 
system,  49 ;  township  system  of  manage- 
ment, 50. 

Puritans,  their  position  in  England,  93,  94 ; 
their  religious  troubles  in  America,  128  ; 
as  distinct  from  cavaliers,  131. 

Quakers,  an  element   of  difference  in  the 

colonies,  129. 
Quarter  Sessions,  15. 

Religion,  differences  in,  among  the  English 
colonists,  128. 

Representative  Government,  origin,  9,  10; 
its  extension  to  national  affairs,  10,  11; 
dependent  on  the  power  to  levy  taxes,  11, 
12  ;  its  appearance  in  the  jury  system,  13. 

Representatives,  House  of,  how  elected, 
173;  how  apportioned,  175:  originates  all 
revenue  bills,  176;  term  of  office  and 
qualifications,  178 ;  basis  of  representa- 
tion, i8o;  its  presiding  officer,  181 ;  only 
body  that  can  impeach,  183. 

Rhode  Island,  95. 

Roads,  importance  of  good,  51;  skill  re- 
quired in  locating,  53  ;  in  constructing, 
54 ;  remedies  for  bad,  55. 

School  Superintendent,  in  the  Oregon 
county,  33. 

Schools.     See  Public  Schools. 

Selectmen,  of  a  town,  22. 

Senate,  represents  the  states,  174;  cannot 
originate  revenue  bills,  176 ;  its  compo- 
sition, 181 ;  presiding  officer,  183  ;  the 
court  for  impeachment,  183  ;  its  executive 
functions,  202. 

Sheriff,  in  early  Virginia,  30 ;  in  the  Oregon 
county,  32. 

Shire,  its  origin  as  a  political  division  in 
England,  9. 

Slavery,  constitutional  compromises  regard- 
ing, 175,  176. 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
181. 

Stamp  Act  Congress,  137. 

States,   conversion  of  colonies   into,  102- 

104  ;  exact  definition  of,  105  ;  the  relation 

,      of  states  and  the  nation,  106  ;  early  cou» 


2SO 


INDEX 


stitutions  of,  as  illustrated  by  Virginia, 
108-X15;  later  constitutions,  116;  general 
features  of  present  state  governments, 
117 ;  powers  of  nation  and,  adjusted,  161 ; 
prohibitions  laid  upon,  by  the  United 
States  Constitution,  216  ;  rights  and  duties 
under  the  Constitution,  217  ;  guaranteed  a 
republican  government,  218;  admission 
of  new  states  into  the  Union,  221. 

Supervisors,  board  of,  38,  39  note. 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  207 ; 
appointment,  salary,  and  tenure  of  office, 
208  ;  its  power  and  influence,  213. 

Surveyor,  County,  34. 

Tacitus,  his  description  of  the  Germans,  3. 

Taxation,  power  of,  retained  by  early  Ger- 
man freemen,  11 ;  in  New  England  towns, 
22  ;  value  of  the  control  of  in  royal  colo- 
nies, ^7  ;  opposition  to  parliamentary,  in 
America,  loi ;  Congress  granted  power  of, 
185. 

Territorial  system  of  the  United  States,  219. 

Town  Meetmg,  22  ;  in  Wisconsin,  38;  its 
importance,  41 ;  of  Boston,  69. 

Township,  its  derivation,  8  ;  its  evolution 
into  the  parish,  13,  14  ;  its  form  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 22  ;  development  of  in  Wiscon- 
sin, 36-42  ;  recent  tendency  toward  this 
form  of  government,  43. 

Township  government,  in  early  Massa- 
chusetts, 22  ;  in  Wisconsin,  40  ;  as  ex- 
emplified in  early  Boston,  69. 

Treason,  under  the  United  States  Constitu- 
tion, 212. 

Treasurer,  town,  23,  40,  41  ;  county,  33. 

Union  among  Colonies,  hindered  by  reli- 
gious differences,  128;  by  race  differences, 
129;  by  social  differences,  130;  by  lack 
of  intercourse,  131  ;  causes  for,  133  ;  early 
attempts  at,  134  ;  the  New  England  Con- 
federation, 134  ;  the  Albany  Convention, 
135  ;  Stamp  Act  Congress,  137  ;  circular 


letter  and  Committees  of  Correspondence 
as  machinery  for,  138;  Continental  Con- 
gresses, 140;  its  accomplishment  with  a 
written  constitution,  141 ;  nature  of,  under 
the  Constitution,  168 ;  laecomes  irrevoc- 
able, 169. 
United  States,  their  expansion  across  the 
continent,  25-28 ;  their  first  union,  142  ; 
genesis  of  the  Constitution,  150  ;  dual 
government  of,  160  ;  nature  of  their  union 
and  source  of  their  power,  169,  170 ;  their 
union  indestructible,  170;  territorial  sys- 
tem, 219  ;  admission  of  new  states,  221. 

Vestrymen,  in  Virginia,  20. 

Veto,  mayor  of  Boston's,  72  ;  mayor  of  Chi- 
cago's, 78 ;  in  present  city  charters,  81  ;  of 
the  governor  of  Virginia,  113;  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  185. 

Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  pre- 
sides in  the  Senate,  183  ;  method  of  elect- 
ing in  the  electoral  college,  194 ;  how 
nominated,  196,  197. 

Village  system,  the  German,  5  ;  common 
fields  in,  6  ;  local  government,  6,  7. 

Virginia,  founded,  17 ;  effect  of  tobacco 
growing  on  its  political  development,  19  ; 
parishes  in,  20 ;  county  governments  in, 
20,  21;  method  of  growth  in,  95;  adop- 
tion of  her  constitution,  108  ;  her  "  Bill 
of  Rights,"  109 ;  frame  of  government, 
111-114;  cavaliers  in,  130. 

Virginia  Plan,  in  the  Federal  convention, 
>5o>  174- 

Washington,  George,  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  147, 149,  151 : 
inaugurated  President,  154;  anecdote  of 
Jefferson  and,  173. 

Wisconsin,  Massachusetts  township  organi- 
zation in,  36-41  ;  the  Town  Meeting,  38- 
41 ;  connection  of  town  and  county,  41, 
42. 

Witan,  the,  lo. 


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